The date is June 16^th, 2015. The location is Trump Tower, New York City. A crowd has gathered in the lobby to witness what will become the most widely discussed campaign in American political history. Many are in attendance. Members of the press, Republicans, Democrats, businessmen and hundreds of others. Ivanka Trump enters stage left to a somewhat perplexed applause. She speaks of building bridges, strength, and making a positive contribution to society.

When Donald J Trump stepped off his chariot (an escalator) and stepped on stage, he made sure to obliterate every argument made by his daughter. He speaks instead of building walls, using cowardly tactics to force trade opponents into submission, and told more lies than fact checkers could keep up with.

Don’t take my word for it, the full video is on the Donald Trump campaign’s official YouTube channel. Don’t plan on leaving any likes, dislikes, or comments, though as they are all disabled.

Many of you may still be asking, “So what is so anti-American about voting for the candidate we deem fit to run the country?” Allow me to explain.

Donald Trump’s policies, campaign rhetoric and actions have all shown that he does not believe that America is a country in which we can stand strong and true to our values. He does not believe that the core principles found in the ancient pages of our constitution are worth fighting for.

There is no greater evidence for this claim than his “ban all Muslims” policy. He has declared that we need to discontinue the immigration of all Muslim peoples coming into the country because we cannot be sure that there are not any ISIS sleeper cells passing in along with them.

This policy itself, ignoring the atrocious generalization of Muslims, is a surrender to ISIS. It is Donald Trump declaring that we must succumb to terrorism and abandon the freedom of religion granted in the first amendment. He has declared that the threat of ISIS is so great, that the American way is not good enough to overcome. Our freedom of religion, the freedom to worship, is a fundamental American value, and to sacrifice it for anything, is downright treasonous.

But Trump does not stop at the freedom to worship; he has set his sights on freedom of the press as well.

Trump has threatened to strengthen libel laws against news companies that paint him and his potential administration in a negative light. Coming from the candidate who is supposedly against political correctness and censorship, this is not only an assault on freedom of the press but blatant hypocrisy. To suggest that we need to make it harder for our media to give criticism of a candidate just because we agree with him is the height of absurdity. Regardless of where you stand, the press has a constitutional right to print whatever they want, not just what you happen to agree with.

One thing that is indisputable, however, is the Donald Trump campaign’s rocky relationship with veterans.

We first started seeing this in late 2015 when Trump was confronted for calling John McCain, who spent nearly six years as a prisoner of war in Vietnam, a “dummy”. The interviewer referred to McCain as a war hero after Trump called him a “loser” to which Trump replied, “He’s not a war hero, he’s a war hero because he got captured, I like people who weren’t captured I hate to tell you”.

Trump has also been under attack for keeping large portions of money raised through the Donald J. Trump Foundation for “veterans charities”. The large majority of this money has not been seen by veterans groups, but by keeping the money in his own personal charity, he has been able to pull a brilliant political stunt, giving him positive media attention.

For a veteran to go through the unimaginable hell of being a prisoner of war for nearly six years is something worthy of respect and admiration, regardless of the politics of said soldier. And for Trump, a draft dodger himself, to deny the merit of McCain’s heroism is a slap in the face of our armed forces. For that same person to lie to our veterans about giving them money and then keeping half of what he promised is downright detestable.

Here’s where you as a voter come in.

These are just a few instances of Trumps attacks on our way of life. Regardless of how great you think America used to be, here are a few principles on which we stand: The freedom to love God, the ability to speak freely, love of our fellow countrymen, and the respect of those who gave their all to defend those principles. Donald J. Trump has taken these principles and rolled them up in a hundred dollar bill to smoke. Donald Trump is not a defender of liberty, he is a small, arrogant, hateful man. His campaign and his movement have trampled on our culture and our traditions, and if you don’t believe me, look at the growing numbers of hate group membership.

But it is your responsibility as an American citizen who assumedly loves this land and its values, to take a stand against hatred and anti-Americanism. It is your duty to your country as an American to take a stand and refuse to empower ideologies that are harmful to our culture, our economy, and our image as a world power.

Just as the right to free speech does not liberate you of consequences, the right to vote does not grant you amnesty from electing a bad person.

So take pride in your country and her values. No one man can make America great, we all have to do that little by little with acts of kindness, strength, and compassion. It is up to you as an American whether or not to empower an ideology of spitefulness and hate.

Think objectively and carefully before making any decision. But don’t think elections are separate from that principle.