For the past few months several pundits and former government officials, both Democrat and Republican, have said, referring to the Trump administration, “These are not serious people.” They said this about RFK, Jr. (as he emphasized the value of treating measles with cod liver oil and vitamin A); about Pete Hegseth (during his nomination process and as Signalgate unfolded); and about Donald Trump himself (as he mused about a third term saying that tariffs are taxes on other countries, mentioned the possibility of invading Greenland, and imposed tariffs on an island of penguins).

“These are not serious people.” I think I know what they mean. Although the administration’s actions have very serious consequences, the people themselves are not serious. To be a serious person one must have the capacity to be grave or solemn when the time calls for it. One must have the capacity to be earnest, which necessitates some level of commitment to the truth. And one must be able to be clear and direct — in thought, word, and deed.

We are coming up on the 10-year anniversary of Trump’s descent down his escalator. He has hijacked our thoughts, emotions, and conversations for more than 15 percent of my life. For much of the past 10 years I have tried to tell myself that shrugging him off and living my life is the best approach to dealing with him, and I still think that, to some degree, this is still true (at least for a few hours every day!). But for me, the time for mockery and satirization is over. It doesn’t ring true. Last week I started to write a satirical letter that imagined that Trump could declare Washington, D.C., a separate, sovereign country, ruled by Donald Trump — and that he could become, simultaneously, Eternal President of Washington, D.C., and Eternal President of the United States — and would therefore enjoy eternal diplomatic immunity. But after the first few drafts, I stopped and thought to myself, “We’re pretty much already there.”

And then I let my imagination run wild for a few minutes, just to see if any crazy thing I could think of would truly surprise me if it came to pass. Nothing could. For example, I imagined his administration declaring that, because the president has absolute power to pardon, he therefore has absolute power to punish because punishment and pardon are just two ends on the spectrum of justice. I wouldn’t be surprised if this argument emerged next week and Trump started using his “absolute power to punish” immediately — on senators, members of Congress, judges, activists, movie stars, and sports celebrities, anyone. Of course, this would spur several lawsuits against the administration, which would be tied up in the courts for years.

Then I imagined that Trump could announce that anyone who has been registered as a Democrat in the last 20 years would be declared an enemy of the state, and subject to potential deportation. Of course, I know this seems pretty unlikely, but can you honestly assure me that this could never happen?

At this point I say thank you to Cory Booker, and I encourage all members of Congress to follow his example: be brave enough to see the reality in front of you and call it out for what it is. May the protests continue. Sometimes acts of resistance bear fruit, and I hope that they sustain us for a few more years.

Michael Fleck lives in Greenfield.