Although the Italian poet Dante Alighieri completed “The Divine Comedy ” more than 800 years ago, the story of the journey through Hell and Purgatory into Heaven is strikingly relevant today.

Even if you (like me) haven’t read the 160,000 word epic, you are probably familiar with Dante’s portrayal of Hell, “The Inferno,” which he divides into nine circles:  Limbo, Lust, Gluttony, Greed, Wrath, Heresy, Violence, Fraud and Treachery.  

Two circles of Hell, Violence and Fraud, have sub-circles. There are three types of violence: against others, against self, and against God.  

And nine versions of fraud: 1) Pandery (pandering) and seduction;  2) Flattery; 3) Simony (selling forgiveness for sins); 4) Sorcery; 5) Barratry (being excessively litigious); 6) Hypocrisy; 7) Thievery; ending with two “Councillors of fraud,” the sowers of discord; and the liars and falsifiers.

So, here’s your question: In which circles of Hell would you put Donald Trump’s  enablers?   By “enablers,” I mean those who are bent on destroying our democratic republic, whether it’s to line their pockets, to serve their warped version of Christianity, or to compensate for their unhappy childhood or adult impotence.  

Perhaps “enablers” should also include those who have turned and continue to turn a blind eye to all that’s going on. Should they be consigned to Limbo, Hell’s first circle?

My own partial list is already pretty long: John Roberts, Mitch McConnell, Lindsay Graham, Marco Rubio, Elon Musk, Jamie Dimon and all the other bankers who knew Trump was a fraud but did nothing, Merrick Garland, Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito, Brett Kavanaugh, Amy Comey Barrett, James Comey, Mark Burnett (who produced ‘The Apprentice’), Judge Aileen Cannon, Peter Thiel, JD Vance, Rudy Guiliani, Pete Hegseth, Russell Vought, Pam Bondi, Jeff Bezos, Tucker Carlson, Leonard Leo, Franklin Graham, George Santos, George W. Bush, Jeb Bush, Brendan Carr of the FCC, and lots of others.

To complete this assignment, you’ll need some blank paper and a pencil with an eraser. Keep in mind that the offenses grow more serious as one descends into Hell. In other words, Lust is not as grievous a sin as Greed, and Wrath is worse than Greed.  

That’s why this task is not a slam dunk, because for example, if you decide that Marco Rubio should be punished for Lust, you are, in effect, absolving him of Hypocrisy.  Does JD Vance belong in the second circle of Flattery, the sixth circle of Hypocrisy, or in the ninth circle with the liars and falsifiers?

And you cannot dodge this responsibility by putting someone into multiple circles!  That’s why you will need an eraser!

Ready, set, go…..