I was asked, “Would someone please tell me why liberals cannot stop whining and just suck up that they lost?”

I will tell you. We are not whining because we lost. We are whining because the mendacious, narcissistic bully who won is unfit for the role. We’re whining because we fear for this great country of ours. We’re whining because it is not a conservative-vs.-liberal question.

Yes, liberals are able to suck it up. In 1980, I was disappointed Reagan won. Later, I didn’t like George Bush and thought George W. was mediocre. I “sucked it up.”

I’m not enamored with Hillary. She’s got a lot of “baggage.” I would have preferred Bernie. There are also many Republican primary candidates I could respect.

But Trump I have never had any respect for and never will. I abhor everything he has stood for his entire life. I abhor reality TV, “The Apprentice,” his book “The Art of the Deal.” I abhor the way he gets joy from ruthlessly eliminating the weakest link. I abhor how he uses his money and standing to walk over anyone in his way. I abhor that he refuses to pay his employees and contractors what they’re worth. I abhor how he puts down women, the disabled, immigrants, blacks, Hispanics, Mexicans, gays, and everyone else who is not rich, white and male. The list goes on and on.

Do you know why everyone expected Hillary to win? It is not because she is a Democrat. It is not because she is a woman. It is because of who “The Donald” is and what he represents.

There was disbelief that Americans would vote for someone so immoral, deceitful, reckless, dishonest, uncaring. A corrupt, manipulative huckster salesman, a morally and financially bankrupt mogul who hired and fired on “The Apprentice,” a narcissist who only looks out for his own interests and doesn’t care who he injures in the process.

Our democracy is threatened by authoritarianism and corruption, with parallels to the rise of fascism in 1930s Germany. That fear is based on Trump’s character, his actions, his words and his unpredictable bully temperament.

Americans fear repudiation of our constitutional values. Americans fear revocation of civil rights. Americans fear intimidation, threats and hatred directed at minorities and immigrants. Americans fear racism and sexism and demagoguery. Americans fear the demise of environmental protections that ensure public health. Americans fear Wall Street greed.

These fears are not unfounded; they’re based on the president-elect’s actions, like the composition of his cabinet. Appointing white-supremacist big business tycoon billionaires to office only makes it worse. He has threatened the safety of many Americans by choosing Steve Bannon, a racist, misogynist, anti-Semitic white nationalist as a senior presidential advisor.

President-elect Trump said he wants to be a president for “all Americans.” Yet he persists in bringing the hateful, divisive rhetoric of the campaign to the White House.

When our republic was founded in 1776, only white males who owned land could vote. Women couldn’t vote. Poor people who didn’t own land couldn’t vote. Do we want to go back to that?

I will not sit down. I will do my part to limit the damage this man can do to my country. I will resist tyranny and hate. I will not stop fighting for justice, for equality and equal rights, for freedom, for all the great things this country has always stood for, in the face of prejudice and hatred that has been revealed in this election. I will join with others to protect the earth and its people.

“When injustice becomes law, resistance becomes duty.” — Thomas Jefferson

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Yvona Fast lives in Lake Clear and writes a weekly cooking column for the Enterprise’s Weekender section.