A year ago, I penned a column recounting America’s acute self-loathing disorder.

And I am unhappy to report things are not just getting worse as we observed or celebrated (pending on your worldview) our country’s birthday but we stand at a precipice where we could collectively do America serious harm by granting presidential power to one of the eighteen political radicals (plus John Hickenlooper and John Delaney) who participated in the kick off Democratic presidential debates.

For after losing a close election in 2016, rather than tacking more to the center the Democrats have lurched far left, now advocating de facto socialism even if only Bernie Sanders has the courage to dare call the prevailing philosophy of the Democratic Party by its true name.

Free medical benefits not just for Americans but for those who have illegally entered the country as well. Who will pay for it? Why the rich of course. But what if they don’t have enough money? Then the threshold of who is considered “rich” will have to be lowered. And even then there won’t be enough public plunder to go around to pay for unsustainable programs, though that may very well be the point.

And then there was Julian Castro going full “Loretta” staking out the lunatic position outside the realm of reality and science by supporting reproductive justice (AKA abortion) for individuals who are biologically incapable of bearing children for having been born with internal organs not of “her” choosing. If Democrats could not be trust to even adhere to the laws of nature, could they be trusted to confine their actions within the laws of man?

Shifting to the Left Coast we see that Portland has devolved into the Weimar Republic with progressives dressed as ISIS terrorists running the streets, brazenly ignoring cowed civil authority, and engaging in beatdowns on independent journalists that should be enraging the folks at CNN, who regularly whine about how President Trump belittles them.

The New Republic has essentially endorsed the campaign to “milkshake” the opposition, running an article gushing about the effectiveness of this tactic, which is an actual assault. Anti-Antifa journalist Andy Ngo, who has bravely filmed the balaclava sporting Jacobins in Portlandia was recently the recipient of not just a beating that sent him bloody and scarred to the hospital but was doused with a chemical substance that Ngo and the police said was quickdry cement. Thus far only the most radical voices, including a self-identified Marxist with the Medium.com and Mother Jones have challenged the claim.

Publicly chortling about the attack on Ngo was the spokesperson from the ironically named Human Rights Campaign, who belittled the gay journalist after he was sent to the hospital, calling Ngo a “sniveling weasel”. So much for looking out for the welfare of LGBT folks being violently beaten down in the streets. Apparently, there are severe consequences for runaways from the pink plantation.

Not even children are spared the Left’s wrath.

Ava Martinez, who is eight years old and made a mark on the internet through her “mini AOC” impersonations, has been subjected to death threats for having the temerity to mock a congresswoman whose bizarre self-filmed rants posted on social media have made her a deserving subject of ridicule.

Little miss Martinez has been effectively silenced without protest or reporting from the establishment media.

So it’s fine for Saturday Night Live to viciously mock Trump, his wife, and his children week after week after week but a kid can’t have a little fun at the expense of the gaffe-prone ex-bartender?

Finally there was Nike’s latest giant foam middle finger to the nation going into the Fourth of July, ostentatiously pulling a “Betsy Ross flag” inspired shoe model from public sale because of objections that were voiced from ex-NFL quarterback (and company marketing mascot) Colin Kaepernick. More on this later.

Next year is going to be one of tremendous consequence for the United States. Taxes and economic policy won’t just be on the line but what kind of society and nation we will all live in the next decade and the actual spirit of our liberties we will still enjoy, as they will almost assuredly remain in word.

America is not heading to a dark place because of the incumbent national leadership but due to the societal influencers (academia, entertainment, and the media) and their attempt to ensure a desired agreeable result in the political realm. And there is no level they will not stoop to avoid another election night humiliation.

Know this: what we see playing out is not so much a threat but a preview of what is yet to come in a progressive political ascendency.

Americans might not like what may come to pass in 2021 but they will not be able to truthfully say they did not expect it.