Though the Nation and the world now must cope with a man whose thirst for power is insatiable, and who is so unconstrained by the truth that he openly cheats at golf, it could have been worse.

Harris might have won by a squeaker, or even a landslide, and all hell could have broken loose, because large numbers were prepared for another attempted “steal” by the Democrats.

Instead, a victory for Trump might have largely restored faith in our electoral system for many who had bought the conspiracy narrative.

Maybe God willed this. Maybe God wanted Trump’s opponents to be the “loyal opposition.” Would that mean we should all fall in line and support President Trump? No.

If God willed Trump’s victory, that would not alter in any way the truth about him. It would simply mean God chose to put us all, including Trump himself, to a severe test. The last thing that a troubled soul needs is more power. To say the least, he remains vengeful and seemingly devoid of all humility, which any leader, certainly the most powerful one in the world, must have.

That Trump appears to be free of humility and most of us — at some level — probably know it, means that a principled, vigilant, peaceful movement to constrain him has a fighting chance.

The Good Fight is here.

But what shall we fight for? As always: a government of the people, by the people, and for the people.

We should fight for the rights of women to make their own life-changing decisions in consultation with medical professionals who may know things that legislators may not.

We should fight for some compassion in our policies toward those who have come to the United States to escape awful circumstances in their own countries, or simply for an opportunity to provide for their families, or grew up here.

The mass deportations Trump has promised threaten to cause unnecessary hardship on a large scale. It could also raise the cost of food, housing and more. Supporters of the bipartisan legislation to address the immigration problem should still fight for it. Among Republican legislators, is there any room left for compassionate conservatism?

We should fight to combat man-made climate change, which is becoming harder to deny by the season.

Immediately, we should fight to freeze offensive military aid to Israel, since President Biden threatened to end some arms shipments this month if more humanitarian aid did not reach Gazans.

We should fight to resist the purge of the Executive branch contemplated by Project 2025. Most who voted for Donald Trump can probably understand that conceding such power to the president can cut both ways. Trump supporters can imagine a bleeding-heart woman president remaking the Executive branch in her own image. Maybe retaining some inertia in the system would be good.

Indeed. One thing we never seem to learn is that power does not constrain itself. That is why Realist political theorists say power balances power. Joe Biden was elected in 2020 to restore some “normalcy” and bipartisanship to American politics, not to pursue a progressive agenda, as urgent as that agenda was for many of us. But given the alignment of forces in 2021, there wasn’t enough to keep the Biden administration to its mandate. Thus the pendulum was left to swing, assuring counter-movement in time.

What is Trump’s mandate? Given the man, it is surely less than he imagines.

Power means everything to Donald Trump. In his own mind, he is invincible. He remains a menace to our country and the world. I mean, he invents stories about FEMA during a life-and-death emergency. But to successfully check him, we must be on guard in our own persons against the faults we perceive in him, as ancient wisdom advises. We must be very careful to not be fast and loose with facts ourselves. And as such wisdom also advises, the best way to fight evil — and after January the sixth I think it is fair to apply the term to Trump — the best way to fight evil is to make progress in the good.

Any movement to check Trump must keep these bits of wisdom in mind.

Todd Buchanan lives in Eldora, He blogs at Dead Patriots Society.