Election Day is almost here. Millions of Americans have already voted. Millions more have yet to vote. What happens over the course of these final days of the 2024 campaign will decide the direction of our country, the fate of our values, and the future of our children and grandchildren.

The choice confronting us is clear. It’s a stark choice between more of the same or a new direction; between neo-Marxist tyranny or ordered liberty under God.

For men and women of faith in particular, it’s an extremely stark choice. Recent events have highlighted the dramatic difference between the candidates.

Skipping Out on Al Smith

One recent warning came when Kamala Harris skipped the Al Smith Dinner, a great American tradition. Named after the first Catholic presidential candidate, Alfred E. Smith, the dinner is a huge fundraiser for Catholic charities in New York City.

Every four years, both presidential candidates attend the dinner and joke about each other. It’s an opportunity for Republicans and Democrats to come together before the election for a good cause and to have some fun.

Kamala Harris refused the invitation — the first presidential candidate since Walter Mondale to do so. Snubbing the Al Smith Dinner was bad enough. But then her campaign chose to send a pre-taped video message recycling a 30-year-old Saturday Night Live skit that many feel is offensive to Catholics.

In contrast, Donald Trump attended the dinner, delivered hilarious punch lines, and offered a heartfelt reflection on the recent attempts on his life, saying:

“I have a very fresh appreciation for how blessed we are by God’s providence and His divine mercy,” he said. “I mean . . . I was not supposed to be here tonight, that I can tell you. So, with God’s help, I know there is nothing that cannot be achieved. We can achieve so much good with this country.”

Shushing Christians

After avoiding men and women of faith, Harris then moved to excluding men and women of faith.

Two Christian college students had the courage to attend a Harris rally in Wisconsin. They were shocked by the emotion she expressed when talking about abortion. They were appalled by the crowd’s celebration of the destruction of innocent human life.

One of the students shouted, “Jesus is Lord!” The other shouted, “Christ is King!”

Harris mocked the students, saying, “You guys are at the wrong rally.” They were kicked out of the event. The crowd roared at Harris’s mockery of their faith.

Harris told those students what the left is telling Christians all the time: “We don’t want to hear from people like you. You’re not welcome here.”

A few days later, there was another rally in Wisconsin. As J.D. Vance was speaking about the left’s attacks on Judeo-Christian values, someone in the audience yelled, “Jesus is King!”

Vance immediately replied, “That’s right. Jesus IS King!” That crowd enthusiastically cheered the affirmation of our faith. No one was mocked, and no one was kicked out of the rally.

Persecuting Christians

But after avoiding and excluding Christians, Harris then declared her intention to oppress and persecute Christians.

In an interview with NBC News, Harris was specifically asked if she would include religious exemptions in abortion legislation should she win the White House. Harris replied, “I don’t think we should be making concessions when we’re talking about [abortion].”

No concessions. There it is, folks. The intolerant totalitarian left has no tolerance for your faith and values.

Under a Harris-Walz administration, Christian hospitals, doctors, nurses, and businesses will be under constant attack. You will be forced to take part in their sacrament of child sacrifice. And I have no doubt they will force Christians to perform and pay for mutilating transgender surgeries on children as well.

If you think I’m exaggerating, think again. They’re doing it NOW!

Christians are losing their jobs for refusing to lie about biological reality. Christians are being banned from serving as adoptive or foster parents. Christians are losing their children because of the left’s gender insanity.

The Obama-Biden administration tried to force the Little Sisters of the Poor to pay for abortions, and tthe Biden-Harris administration is trying to force Christian ministries to do the same. In fact, the James Dobson Family Institute, PublicSquare, and others are in court right now, suing the Biden-Harris administration to stop these outrageous mandates.

America was built on the idea that liberty comes from God, not government. For most of our history there was a broad bipartisan consensus in support of religious liberty. Not anymore.

Totalitarians R Us

If you love America and love Jesus, the left calls you a “Christian nationalist” and a threat to the country. We used to call those people “patriots.” Virtually every one of our Founding Fathers would be called “Christian nationalists” and a “danger to democracy” by today’s Democrats.

Speaking of dangers, there is a real threat to our freedom. But it’s coming from the left, not the right.

It’s the left, not the right, that threatens free speech and religious liberty. It’s the left, not the right, that threatens your ability to protect your family. It’s the left, not the right, that is trying to dictate what you can eat, what you can drive, and how you cook and heat your home. It’s the left, not the right, that is trying to force you to lie about biological reality. It’s the left, not the right, that wants to pack the Supreme Court so it can control everything. It’s the left, not the right, that wants to abolish the Senate and the Electoral College. It’s the left, not the right, that calls our Constitution “outdated” and “trash.”

The real threat to our freedom is a leftist regime that spies on parents and churches. The real threat to our freedom is a leftist regime that weaponizes the judicial system against its political opponents.

The real threat to our freedom is a leftist regime that tries to manipulate elections by kicking its opponents off the ballot. The real threat to our freedom is a leftist regime that censors the truth. The real threat to our freedom is the Deep State that lies to the American people in order to manipulate our elections and undermine a duly elected president.

Christian voters have a lot at stake in this election. Your vote will determine whether America remains free or surrenders to the militantly secular, totalitarian neo-Marxist left.

Gary L. Bauer, former chief domestic policy adviser to President Reagan and a Trump-appointee to the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, serves as president of American Values, chairman of Campaign for Working Families PAC, and senior vice president of public policy for the Dr. James Dobson Family Institute.