‘Did you see Musk’s imperial Roman salute, later adopted by Hitler? Do you think it was on purpose, to send a signal to the world that he wants to be in charge?’ I asked Camp after we toasted out health at our usual watering hole.

            Camp shrugged his shoulders. ‘It doesn’t really matter since its evident that Musk is a genius with the personality of an adolescent, probably somewhere on the spectrum. Not that this excuses his outrageous behaviour towards people less rich than himself.’

‘What about 1500 rioters, including the leaders of the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers, that Trump set free. Both those organisations have sworn revenge whoever that includes.’

‘Well, my friend, I hate to repeat myself but as we both know, the stage is set for an America that resembles a dictatorship more than any other democracy on the planet. Welcome to Trump Land and good luck to you through the next four years if you’re a migrant, a transgender person or even a liberal democrat. Hate is on the program as are detentions and incarcerations. Families will be torn apart and criminals and people smugglers will thrive since the price for drugs and illegal migrants has just increased.’

Camp wasn’t finished. ‘The US will leave the climate change community and the World Health Organisation. They will expand oil exploration in Alaska and in parks; they will only allow two genders to exist and only people loyal to the Trump doctrine will be allowed to work for the federal government. Pundits and sycophants, unqualified and inexperienced crackpots will run the Pentagon, Health Services, Homeland Security and the FBI. Sounds familiar? You bet. We’ve seen this movie before. 

‘On top of that a trade war is looming with Canada, Mexico and the rest of the world and hostile takeovers of Panama and Greenland are being considered by the bully in the White House. The world will all have to submit to an erratic and arbitrary rule of law and order which will be discriminatory, punitive, vengeful and decidedly exclusive and fascist. Watch out for that knock on the door in the middle of the night. This is not a script for a dystopian fiction but a reality that we will all have to live with in the coming months and years.’ 

‘How about this little factoid: As soon as Trump picked Kennedy to be his health czar, stocks for dental-hygiene companies soared. That’s because he wants to remove fluoride from public water systems despite its proven benefit to delay tooth decay.’ 

No matter where you turn, the crazies seem to rule the earth right now.,’ I said, finishing my pint. ‘They oppose or deny science, make unfounded claims about the environment, migrants and anybody that opposed the current doctrine of might and wealth.  But a majority of Americans voted for this kind of banana republic government. It makes me worried about the present generation and what the world will look like in four or ten years. 

‘I suppose we could be philosophical and point to the cyclic nature of human behaviour where periods of wars and dictatorships make way for democracies and liberal societies just to once again fall prey to oligarchies and fascism. Always at a cost of millions of lives either incarcerated or outright slaughtered. Are we entering a period of repression and depression?’

I didn’t answer since it was a rhetorical question but it got both of us thinking – the kind of mental gymnastics that can lead one to drink. And just on cue Vicky came by with two refills. 

‘Just make sure the beer we’re drinking is from Canada,’ Camp said. 

‘How about a  local brew,’ Vicky asked, it’s time to support the local economy. And did you hear that Trump and Musk are flying to Mars together?’ she said with a wink. 

‘On a one-way ticket I hope,’ I said.