I often play a mental exercise game that my parents played constantly after World War II: “What if …?”
When my parents played the “What if … ?” they tended to play a different version than Baby Boomers and younger age-cliques play today. Back in the late ‘40s and early ‘50s, the mind-game had a decidedly different wish list quality.
“What if I can find a job so I can go to college on the G.I. Bill?
The “What ifs” of 2026 take on a different plane of personal pain due to the political platitudes and plateaus placed on personal and professional paths of progress.
WHAT IF…
- Our democratic nation was not in danger of becoming a dictatorship?
- The U.S. Constitution and related acts of ethical and moral behavior were accepted as foundational doctrine by our leaders and all residents?
- No resident of this nation went to bed hungry. were denied medical care, children were never separated from caring parents due to bureaucratic edicts, or any migrant was deported without due process being mandatory?
- Our elected and appointed public officials considered an election by peers as a sacred duty of service, rather than a profit center?
- Every person in this nation who is eligible to vote actually voted?
- Joe Biden had resigned the first two years of his term, making VP Harris the first woman president AND the first black woman president? That would have given her time to prove she was up to the job.
- President Trump was to resign in October, and be pardoned for any and all crimes by President JD Vance? He could then be set up as a vice president candidate as a running mate to Vance.
- Russian dictator Putin got mad at Trump for some reason obscure reason and publicly released the rumored “pee” tape of Trump with two prostitutes?
- Trump made a public statement that he intentionally designed his “who-is-going-to-pay-for-it ballroom” to look like a New Orleans bordello?
- Trump lied about acing his cognitive mental exam four straight times? (Oh, never mind. He’s already done that.)
- Trump in his May 2026 medical exam was described as being in “excellent health”. Never mind. He’s already released that “fig newton” of some doctor’s imagination.
This could go on forever, you know if the “what if” game included the MMA fight at the White House, or the fact the nation’s 250th Anniversary bash is now a Trump rally after most music acts cancelled.