The 17th century philosopher Blaise Pascal argued that the rational man believes in God out of self-interest and intellectual modesty; if an atheist is wrong about God’s existence, the consequences to him are terrifying, but if a believer is wrong, the consequences are negligible. It makes a certain amount of sense in a cynical way.
But apply that reasoning to a second Trump presidency. It is perfectly possible–even likely, given the vagaries of his personality–that Trump wouldn’t use his emergency powers and control of the military to suppress dissent and eliminate all of the checks and balances in our government. You cannot say that with absolute certainty, however. Is that a gamble you really want to take?
If any of my readers are on the fence about the election, please keep that in mind.