A good friend and I have what we call our “Best Friends Thursday” lunches, where we catch up on the events of the day, primarily local matters. He recently said, “I enjoy your commentaries, but I wish you’d write about something other than Trump.”

It’s a fair point, and I try to cover various issues. But this election is so consequential (yes, that’s getting old, but it’s true) that I feel it’s necessary to address Donald Trump’s divisiveness that continues to fuel an “us vs. them” mentality, presenting us with a Hobson’s choice: you’re either a patriot or an enemy.

I feel compelled to address those still undecided, the fence-sitters. Hundreds of Republicans—including many who served in Trump’s own administration—have publicly declared the danger he poses if re-elected. These are not just political opponents; these are people who worked closest to him in the White House and his cabinet, who have seen firsthand the threat he represents. Aren’t you worried about that?

Isn’t it troubling that retired Generals Mark Milley, James Mattis, and John Kelly have warned about his lack of respect for the military and caution about what another Trump administration could lead to?

Doesn’t it concern you that the former president violated Arlington Cemetery’s rules of conduct for political gain, even after being informed that federal law prohibits campaign activities in military cemeteries?

Paul Eaton, a retired Army general whose father’s remains are at Arlington, said, “I just haven’t seen anything this disgusting. It is completely inappropriate to do any kind of political activity on a federal installation, and it is immoral… to conduct any self-serving activity on a cemetery with the graves of our fallen.”

Doesn’t that bother you?

How about when he re-posts a crude joke about Vice President Harris?

Or when he attacks a sitting Republican Governor of Georgia while campaigning in Georgia? Shouldn’t that trouble you, Georgia Republicans?

Isn’t it alarming when he continues to defend his supporters who attacked the Capitol in 2021, many of whom were calling for the hanging of his vice president, or when he suggests he might pardon those already serving prison sentences?

Doesn’t any of this raise a red flag for you?

Trump knows how to play to his audience at rallies, serving up cynicism, fear, division, and bitterness, willfully exploiting the worst impulses of his supporters. In our most troubling times, we need a leader who lifts us all up instead of tearing so many down, a leader who inspires our better angels.

In the darkest of times, angels can guide us through any storm if we’re willing to listen.