Could it be that people continue to be obsessed with Trump because he continues to pose a threat to our system of government? Multiple states with G.O.P. legislaures have passed laws that would allow the legislature to override election officials, even without objective evidence of fraud; these same states have passed election “reforms” that will have the effect of making it more difficult for minorities to vote, and the polls indicate that either Trump, or a Trump protege, will be the likely Republican nominee in 2024.

Yes, there are zany haters out there and making assumptions about your children is across the tracks, but the Germans in the 1920s and 1930s also discounted the threat to their democracy and the world paid a terrible price for it. Is it at least possible that the old adage—if you are not frightened, you haven’t been paying attention—is true this time?