On November 3, Americans will choose between liberty and tyranny. Republicans are far from perfect, but under present circumstances they are the only option to preserve our freedom. We can deal with Republican failings after they are elected. We cannot do that on the Democrat road to serfdom, along which the power to correct leaders will be the first thing lost.
The choice turns on a question older than any party: do we still accept that some things are true regardless of what we might want? A man is not a woman. A law that is not enforced exists on paper only. A border that is not defended is not a border. When a political movement rejects reality, public debates no longer hinge on what is true. Rather, they hinge on who has the power to impose victory.
Intellect loses its virtue when it stops seeking truth and turns to political ends. Once debate stops serving knowledge and objectivity, what remains is what philosopher Douglas Groothuis called the machinations of power. Law, no longer grounded in a moral order above the state, becomes arbitrary. Thus, a nation that cannot say what is real cannot long remain free.
Consider women’s sports. Male puberty brings lasting and meaningful advantages in strength, speed, and power. Women competing against such athletes lose fair competition and, in some sports, face physical risk. We can treat people uncomfortable with their birth sex with empathy. However, empathy does not mean denying reality or taking safety from others.
Prioritizing feelings and political goals over facts is a perennial Democrat problem. After George Floyd’s death, Representatives Ilhan Omar (D-MN) and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) backed defunding or dismantling police. Nine Minneapolis City Council members pledged to dismantle their police department. In 2019, eight of 10 candidates on one Democratic debate stage said illegal border crossing should no longer be a crime. Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and Bernie Sanders (I-VT) took the same position in a later debate.
In February, Omar called on the House floor to abolish ICE. In August, the Democratic National Committee passed a nonbinding resolution urging Congress to do so. Many Democrats might say they disagree, but a party is defined by the people it elevates.
A voter who disagrees still helps empower those who hold such positions. A vote for Democrats is a vote for the leaders who hold these positions and for the road they are paving to serfdom.
Consider the border. Under the Joe Biden administration, Southwest border encounters hit a record 2.48 million in 2023. In 2024, the administration itself said the government could not “predictably and swiftly deliver consequences” to most who crossed unlawfully. The law was not enforced, and now ICE is enforcing it, as legislated by Congress.
Democrat leaders who were silent when record numbers crossed the border now call ICE agents “goons” and “thugs.” A growing part of the Democrat Party wants to abolish the agency. Agents who break the law should be held accountable, and violent incidents deserve independent investigation. The remedy for misconduct is accountability, not abolishing the agency.
A party that ignores the law while governing and rejects enforcement when out of power has put politics above the rule of law. Giving Democrats power invites dictatorship.
The pattern is the same each time: a claim is asserted that conflicts with observable reality. Then institutions enforce the claim: schools, corporations, professional bodies, and finally the law. History’s worst regimes began by insisting that reality bend to ideology and by punishing those who did not bend the knee.
A government that rejects reality cannot be corrected by facts, only by force. Before we reach this point, we should stop Democrats with our votes while we can.
President Donald Trump’s confrontation with Iran is an example of placing reality over politics. He had to know the political price, but he accepted his duty to protect the country.
The Iranian Revolutionary Guard’s own officials say it exists to hasten the Mahdi’s return. Shia Muslims believe this will bring peace and justice to the world. In 2012, the supreme leader’s representative to the Guard called it “one of the tools for paving the way for the emergence of the Imam of the Age.” In 2022, his successor affirmed this point. People who believe destroying the world will save it cannot be trusted with nuclear weapons. A leader who puts duty above politics is the kind we need.
A free nation stays free because enough of its citizens are willing to say, calmly and without apology, what is real—and then to vote for those who will protect it. We still have time to choose liberty over lies.
This article first appeared in BizPac Review.
