Life lessons for our children from Trump’s victory: Lying works. Lie frequently and bigly. Repeat a lie often enough, and people will believe it. Climate change is a hoax. Extreme weather is fake news. Drill, baby, drill because there’s money to be made. Never apologize. Never admit you’re wrong. Never concede. Never forgive. If punched, punch back harder. Bullying works. Just ask the Republican politicians and businessmen who Trump has bullied into submission. Character is overrated. Honestly and integrity are quaint ideals from a bygone age. Power is the thing. In a nation of immigrants, immigrants are a bad thing. The biblical call to welcome the foreigner must be a misprint. Women are not nearly as important as their fetuses. Some people are above the law. Felons can aspire to become POTUS. Fraud, grift, and corruption are misunderstood expressions of the entrepreneurial spirit.

Diversity, equality, and inclusion are in disfavor. Heads up, people of color, LGBTQs, and non-Christians; compassion will be in short supply. In Trump World, toxic masculinity is welcome. Men, after all, know what’s best for women, and Trump will protect them “whether they like it or not.” Forgive our children for being confused by the contradiction between the behaviors they are asked to exhibit in school and the behaviors of our president-elect. Ditto for young Christians. This is who we are. The American people have spoken.

Allan MacDonald

New London