There have been surprising upsides to almost every disaster in history.

For example, following the extinction of dinosaurs, our ancestors got a clearer shot at the leadership of living species.

At the moment, we are daily being soaked to the skin with Trump’s deluge of nonsense. We have yet to contract pneumonia, though the risk seems to rise daily.

So what could be upside to the storm we are now living through?

If (by no means assured), we survive Trump’s presidency more or less intact, at the very least, we will presumably have learned to be much more careful in selecting  presidential candidates for both parties.

We will also have discovered that our democracy ideals and institutions are stronger and more resilient than a lot us thought possible. And rebuilding can be done with greater confidence and hope.

We might get insight about what badly needs fixing in our system. When the political environment has calmed down enough to address subjects like foreign influence of elections, hyper-partisanship and a dysfunctional legislative branch calmly and wisely, we will do so stronger and wiser than when we started.

We may also have learned that our economy is much more resilient to presidential mismanagement than a lot of us had previously believed possible. While initially an upside, because Trump’s departure will likely generate a new round of “irrational exuberance” in our financial markets, beware a correction, recession to follow.

One of the most lasting things we will have to struggle with is the federal judicial system, which has been filled with far too many unqualified judges. Our system of appointing judges may be worthy of very careful thought going forward, with new emphasis placed not solely on judicial philosophy, but competence in jurisprudence.

The point of this piece is that I hope you do not despair.

With a bit of luck, we might come out of this whole experience better off for it – as individuals and a nation.

We need to remind ourselves of that every day to sustain our hopes and efforts.