Not sure.  I imagine the Apostles felt the same way during Our Lord's Passion.  Do you honestly think there's hope if, say, Trump gets elected?  I don't.  I think he's also controlled, and if the select him, they have a reason for it.  Sometimes God does and will put people into situations where there's no natural hope left, leaving us only with the bare, raw supernatural hope to cling to ... analogous to a dark night of the soul, except it's for all of society instead of just an individual.

Indeed, I see things as finished and hopeless, naturally speaking.  And sometimes it's only then that we realize how much we need God, where we hit rock bottom and can no longer rely upon ourselves but acknowledge our helplessness and seek God's help.

I think it's getting to the point of being as bad as in the "Days of Noah", and it might be nearing the time when we just have to scamper to the safety of the ark while God cleans up the mess.

I think there are good points there, but Noe didn't enter the ark until the floodwaters were rising; he stayed in civilization until the last moment. While it's bad in the world, and deteriorating, I think there's still work to be done. If the trads cry "all is lost", who else is left?

Many times in life one has to keep going even when there is no hope of success. It's called duty. I say let God decide when the game is over, not anyone else.

"All is lost"? Imagine if Archbishop Lefebvre had said that in the 1970s. Thank goodness His Excellency didn't and instead took the heroic step he took which has enabled Catholic Tradition to flourish and grow these last 55 years. There were "doomsday preachers" in the 70s too, not only Prots, but even Trads, who believed "all is lost" and it would all end in 5 or 10 years or so. That's been empirically falsified now. 55 years later, here we still are. Who is to say things can't continue for another 10 or 20 years or more? In fact, Our Lady has promised us the triumph of her Immaculate Heart. Obviously, abortion will not exist/be abolished by the time that happens. That means we must pray and work/push for more and more pro life candidates and pro life policies with the end goal of abortion abolition

Nowhere does Fr. Scott say it would be a mortal sin to vote; in fact, he says the opposite. There are people here alleging it would be a mortal sin to vote for Trump.

No, he doesn't.  I think he is saying the same things that the moral theologians say when considering two unworthy candidates:  permissible, but not obligatory. So, yes, people can vote, or they can abstain.

I think the OP was a response to Vigano's recent comments that say it is obligatory to vote for Trump.