So I think we should all try to relax. Policy outcomes in this country rarely reflect the dire prophecies of political combatants. Sometimes the needle moves a little to the left, sometimes to the right, but the Battle of Armageddon has yet to happen, Christ has yet to return to inaugurate his millennial kingdom. I’m not a betting man, but if I were, I’d wager that the tax bill or another debate on immigration reform is not going to bring Him back, either. Instead, it will be politics as usual in 2018. And that is not such a bad thing.
More than anything else — more than Trumpian ineptitude, more than worst-case climate change scenarios, more than Prime Minister Corbyn or war with North Korea or another worldwide economic meltdown — what political partisans fear is boredom. Boredom, being left alone with nothing but their own thoughts and personalities for company, and having to take responsibility for their own happiness during a string of uneventful, unremarkable days — anything but that.