We have continuing evidence about who Trump surrounds himself with. One after the other we see corrupt cabinet officials and others. His present Labor Secretary has been complicit in covering for a serial child molester/rapist. The evidence of the corruption of Trump and his cronies just keeps mounting. What is even more shocking is that at least 40% of the American public are devoted to Trump. For a time I thought it might be just a matter of the information they were getting. But the coverage of the corruption is so widespread that they must be hearing about it and their continuing devotion is extremely shocking.

As a psychologist I need to make one thing perfectly clear. What Epstein did is not something that has a temporary effect on his victims. Many of these girls were already vulnerable because of family dysfunction. He seized on their vulnerability. And what he did is being defended.

The experience these girls had was traumatic, will almost surely permanently warp their self image and self esteem. They go forward in their lives with post traumatic stress disorder. Even worse, society contributes to the damage. Too often girls who are raped or mistreated in this fashion are then unfairly viewed as soiled and are rejected. In the stories of these women who were raped we hear that they avoid the word “rape” because of the impact on how many people see them and what it does to their self esteem. It is totally unfair and immoral to treat a vulnerable victim in this fashion.

The larger picture is increasingly distressing. Trump supporters stand with and applaud him as the future of our democracy is endangered. Our relationships with our allies are being trashed and our departments corrupted. There seems to be a reticence to confront these issues about Trump supporters openly but we must. Do they not care that the integrity of our precious country is being shredded? Do they not care about what that means for the future of their children and grandchildren?

If Trump’s supporters will not stand up for our country and help put an end to this widespread corruption, then it is up to the rest of us to defend our country and that means every one of us getting out to vote. If you have not voted before, you need to now. And the rest of us must be sure we return to the voting booth.

I never thought I would see this day. Our country must be defended.