I spend some time on Quora, the Q&A site. I usually answer questions, but sometimes look for answers. I got a notification about a question, as follows:

Trump admits he wanted to award himself the Medal of Honor, the highest award given for bravery to military members, but “they wouldn’t let” him do it because it would be “inappropriate.” How can ANY Veteran or current service member support this?

There were lots of answers, and since the “Space” the question was posed in was the “Trumpers are Traitors” space, “A space to expose the treasonous misdeeds of Trump and his followers,” I knew it was going to be a Trump Derangement Syndrome frenzy.

But I wanted to try to inject a small amount of sanity into the proceedings, and was well aware that my answer would be deleted, post haste. So I decided to post my answer here, as well, where they cannot cancel it. So here is is:

I know you’re going to delete this, because God forbid any sanity be injected into this space, but here goes anyway.

It’s obvious he was joking. It’s a tasteless joke, perhaps on the order of Biden’s assertion that a black person isn’t black if he or she doesn’t vote for Biden. Except Biden wasn’t joking.

Here’s the thing: there are two mental conditions associated with Trump. These conditions occur in people other than Trump. The same mental conditions are associated with Biden, too, by the way, but I digress.

The first condition associated with Trump, the one exhibited in the posting of this question, is the Trump Derangement Syndrome (TDS). Trump is the devil. Trump is Hitler. Trump is… take your pick. Nothing he does or says is right, and even if you happen to accidentally agree with him (like on not drinking alcohol, for instance), he’s still wrong. Even if Trump policies actually work, they must be still be opposed and reversed. Just because Trump is for them.

The second condition is the opposite. It could be called Trump Worship Syndrome (TWS). Nothing Trump does or says can be criticized. Trump is love. Trump is the savior. Trump is the ultimate patriot. If you happen to disagree with Trump on anything, even if it is an important part of your beliefs, Trump is still right. If Trump policies don’t actually work, they must still be carried out. Just because Trump is for them.

You see what is going on here, don’t you? Both ends of the spectrum are deranged. And like many other derangements, the sufferers cannot even see it. They cancel anyone who point out their derangement. Many otherwise intelligent people have fallen victim to either one or the other condition. It’s tragic. It’s almost as if they have gone into an irreversible loop, like a computer with a virus.

The fact is, Trump policies were, on balance, beneficial to the country. This should be obvious to anyone who has observed what has changed under Biden. Of course, TDS sufferers cannot admit this. It is also a fact that Trump is a narcissist. He can be extremely rude. He can be very infuriating. And TWS sufferers cannot admit this.

I say to both sides: turn your brain back on, please. It’s possible to fight Trump or support Trump without turning yourself into a mockery of a thinking human being.