What Did We Just Agree To?

I've never been a fan of alarmists. Panic always seems overblown, premature, a bad trade of attention for anxiety.

But this time, I'm genuinely concerned about the terms of exchange the American citizenry just accepted.

What exactly did we agree to receive in exchange for re-electing a 79-year-old Donald J. Trump as the 47th President of the United States of America?

We elected a former president convicted of 34 felonies for falsifying business records to conceal hush money payments, a man who now appears to be leaning toward authoritarianism as revenge.

The trade was made at the ballot box: we chose familiarity, perhaps, or the promise of disruption. But what did we give up? And what, exactly, did we get in return?

What will we get in return?

I'm not an alarmist. But I'm asking: Are we ready to meet these terms? Do we understand what we traded away, and what we're about to pay?