In the 60s sitcom The Dick Van Dyke Show, there would come a moment of truth when Laura discovers the well-intentioned, harebrained scheme of her loving husband and nails him with her piercing, heartfelt question: “Rob . . . how could you?” It worked every time for Mary Tyler Moore as she brought Dick Van Dyke, her TV husband, to see the folly of his ill-planned actions.

As Joe Biden and Kamala Harris prepare to enter the White House, I am thinking how best to deliver Laura’s line to relatives and friends who voted for the Democratic ticket: “How could you do this to the ones you love?”

It may be too much to expect the Biden/Harris supporters in my life to experience Rob’s light-bulb moment and see clearly that their vote, however well-intentioned, has put me and millions of others who stand for life and liberty in the crosshairs of numerous policies the incoming administration will seek to implement. But surely, they have to understand that Biden/Harris will unleash pent-up anger, revenge, and opportunism, empowering those set on “making abortion great again.” The rage and lies of the Kavanaugh hearings will be nothing compared to what’s to come, and the forces will be applied right down the line to the humblest pro-life, pro-family, pro-marriage advocate who seeks to say or do anything against the reign of abortion, same-sex relations, and transgender ideology.

“How could you?” indeed.

For those who fail to see the impact on their loved ones, I outline the case that Biden/Harris themselves have made against us and our cause by promising these actions:

• Reverse the “Mexico City Policy,” first enacted by President Reagan and upheld by every Republican president, which prohibits federal funds from supporting abortion overseas;
• Seek to repeal the Hyde Amendment, supported by every Congress since Henry Hyde proposed it in the 1980s, which prohibits federal funding of abortion except in certain cases. Biden supported the Hyde Amendment until he decided to run for president;
• Persecute prolifers as Kamala Harris did when she was California’s attorney general, especially in the case of heroic undercover journalist David Daleiden, who exposed the abortion industry’s trafficking in aborted fetal body parts;
• Trample First Amendment religious freedoms by renewing federal action against the Little Sisters of the Poor and other religious employers that object to the contraceptive/abortifacient mandate of Obamacare. Under Biden, the Department of Health and Human Services, which imposed the contraceptive mandate, will be run by Xavier Becerra, California’s current attorney general, who has followed a radical agenda while serving the interests of Planned Parenthood and the abortion lobby;
• Suppress freedom of speech and the press through an alliance with mainstream media and Big Tech operators who are more than happy to promote radical liberal causes and ban or demonetize pro-life and conservative platforms. Just look at how they suppressed the New York Post story on Hunter Biden’s laptop and now are banning online talk about possible election fraud;
• Further destroy the concept of the natural family of mother, father, and children by promoting same-sex marriage—which Biden favors so much he officiated at such a union;
• Further confuse the biological distinction between males and females by pushing the transgender agenda, and in the process confuse and psychologically abuse school children by teaching transgender ideology and crushing the athletic achievements of girls across the nation by asserting the right of biological boys to compete with females.

To borrow a phrase that seemed to resonate so well with Biden/Harris backers when spoken last year to an enthralled United Nations, “How dare you!” How dare you put me and others in clear and present danger of suppression, harassment, and mob violence by voting for the juggernaut of radical policies that march under the Biden/Harris banner?

It is easy to imagine that the “mostly peaceful” political violence of this past summer will be normalized under the new regime, since Harris praised the goals of the rioters and Biden turned a blind eye. Violence has its purposes, from the violence of the abortion mills to the violence in the streets designed to silence and intimidate opposing action, argument, and thought. How many times have you heard people say that if Trump proves massive election fraud and retains the White House, they fear the leftist riots that would ensue? The unchecked violence of the summer served its purpose in making the average American fearful of a Trump victory.

For a long time, Democrats have been perfecting the art of political intimidation and public shaming—now known as “canceling.” Through public action and online bans, they are bringing their tactics into the neighborhoods and the social networks of Americans everywhere. Our response must be personal as well. We start with those we have the most influence over because there is shared love and concern. It will be difficult to say to your sister or brother-in-law that their vote will hurt you personally, and perhaps professionally, and an unwanted argument may ensue. But that’s the price of witnessing to the hard truths of life and liberty. Whether we are Christian or not, we should consider the words of Jesus as prophetic: “Brothers will turn against their own brothers and hand them over to be killed. Fathers will hand over their own children to be killed. Children will fight against their own parents and will have them killed. Everyone will hate you because you follow me. But the one who remains faithful to the end will be saved.” (Matt 10:21-23)

Yes, I am treading on land mines, courting family divisions and unpleasant exchanges at holiday gatherings. Forgive me. Each one reading this must judge for himself or herself the best way, with love and concern, to convey how horrible a Biden/Harris administration will be for those who stand for life and liberty. And we must do this not to tell our loved ones that they were wrong and must repent; we must remember that those who favor abortion are weighed down by error or misperception, for whatever reason. We may have had difficult arguments over these issues before and declared a “peace” or a “truce.” Now we have an opportunity to reach them on a new, personal level by explaining how a vote for abortion and its attendant ills may have real-life negative effects on me and you.

Stand up, raise your chin, clear your throat and your thoughts, and decide on the right time and place to make your point. If nothing else, send your loved ones this column. I won’t mind; it’s written under my pen name.