Our election is no longer merely a referendum on the incumbent president or a decision about the future direction of this country.
For tens of thousands of Americans, and perhaps hundreds of thousands, this is a life-or-death situation.
A Joe Biden win will save lives. It will potentially save your life. It could save mine.
There is no other way to see it. If Donald Trump wins, he will continue to dismiss our nation’s leading scientists. He will continue to promote a reckless strategy of opening the economy, regardless of the danger. He will continue to dismiss mask-wearing. His policies will lead to countless unnecessary deaths, even more than they already have, for the foreseeable future. White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows straight told CNN on Sunday, "we are not going to control the pandemic." Fact is, they gave up trying months ago.
Donald Trump is devoid of empathy and hell-bent on returning life to what used to be normal. He doesn’t care how many people perish. He only cares about himself. Since he has already survived the disease -- thanks to the best healthcare this nation can provide -- he believes it’s not that bad.
The president has no plan to fight the virus. This is hardly new. He continues to claim the only reason for the surging case count is because we test for it. But the reality is the actual number of cases is likely exponentially higher because we aren’t testing nearly enough.
A Joe Biden win means Dr. Anthony Fauci, the most accomplished infectious-disease expert in U.S. history, will once again lead the response. A Donald Trump win means Dr. Scott Atlas, a radiologist with no experience in infectious diseases, will continue to lead the response.
A Joe Biden win means an administration staffed with individuals who have significant experience and expertise in running a government. A Donald Trump win means we will continue to rely on Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump -- the prince and princess of privilege and nepotism -- as well as a cadre of feckless Trump sycophants.
A Joe Biden win means the CDC will, once again, be empowered to deliver scientific-based information to the American people. A Donald Trump win means the once-renowned agency will continue to be scuttled.
A Joe Biden win means that we will be able to trust our president when he says a safe-and-effective vaccine is available. A Donald Trump win means we will continue to be led by a man with no credibility, which will cause large numbers of people to distrust and, thus, not take a vaccine.
A Joe Biden win means we will have a president who treats us like adults and levels with us. A Donald Trump win means more fantastical lies, false happy talk and wishful thinking.
Maybe you won’t die from COVID-19 if Donald Trump wins. Maybe you’ll just fall ill. Maybe you’ll become a long-hauler, one of those people who suffers from the excruciating effects of the virus for months.
Maybe you’ll avoid the virus altogether, or maybe you’ll catch it and be asymptomatic.
But what about your parents? What about your elderly grandparents? What about your overweight friends who are stricken with type-2 diabetes? What about the millions of people who have compromised immune systems?
What happens when Trump finally succeeds in dismantling the Affordable Care Act? The millions of people who recover, many of whom will undoubtedly have long-term side effects, will suddenly have a pre-existing condition. Where will they turn if our health-care system returns to the bad-old days before Obamacare?
Our nation’s medical community has been pleading with Americans on national television for months. They all say the same thing, that we are about to endure our darkest hour. But Donald Trump and his friends stubbornly refuse to take action, instead doing the exact opposite of what our public-heath officials recommend. Now, our day of reckoning has arrived. Again. For the third time in seven months.
Michelle Obama advised us during the Democratic National Convention to vote for Joe Biden like our lives depend on it.
For hundreds of thousands of Americans, that wasn’t an understatement.