By Rod Dreher, The American Conservative

Well, I just returned from voting. Got up early to get to the polls when they opened at six a.m. Arrived a bit late — 6:20 — and there was already a long line. This was good, because it gave me more time to pray about what I was going to do about the presidency. Voting for Biden, which I had considered earlier this fall, was out. For me, it was between the American Solidarity Party candidate, and Donald Trump. I had settled on the AS line, but a number of you wrote to me to make the case for why I should vote Trump anyway, even though I can hardly stand the man. I took you all seriously. I took the words my college-age son, who supports Biden, said seriously about the danger of a Trump vote. I also took this seriously:

I was literally praying to God for guidance up until I entered the booth. I took a photograph of the voting machine, with my presidential vote on it, so I would have a record. But I also decided that I was not going to reveal my vote to anybody, not even my wife. I don’t want to put up with the abuse by people who are mad I didn’t vote for Trump, or from people who are mad that I did. This entire campaign has been so unpleasant that I don’t want to extend the misery of it by inviting contempt from both pro-and-anti-Trump strangers, and pro-and-anti-Trump people I love. I will say that I have never thought harder and prayed more over any vote I’ve ever cast. However you voted, reader, you are still my friend, because my love and my loyalty do not depend on your political views and acts.

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