In Part 1, I laid out my analysis of President Donald Trump and the petty nature of his evil. But in recent months, his evil has taken a dangerous and disturbing turn.

On September 23, during a White House press briefing, he was asked:

“Win, lose, or draw in this election, will you commit here, today, for a peaceful transferal of power after the election?”

Trump refused to do so, replying, “Well, we’re going to have to see what happens.” He later added, “We want to have — get rid of the ballots and you’ll have a very trans- — we’ll have a very peaceful — there won’t be a transfer, frankly; there’ll be a continuation.”

This is not taking him out of context; this is directly from the White House’s own transcript. He refused to commit to a peaceful transfer of power, and then followed up by saying that things would be even more peaceful by getting rid of the ballots.

Since then, he has had plenty of time to retract his statement, but has refused to do so. Meanwhile, during the Vice Presidential debate, Vice President Pence avoided answering the question, instead saying, “”If we have a free and fair election, we know we’re going to have confidence in it, and I believe in my heart that President Trump will be re-elected for four more years.” This is, of course, a non-answer. It would be easy for Pence to say, “Of course we will abide by the will of the American people,” but he would not or could not do so.

This single act should convince patriotic Americans that they should not vote for Donald Trump’s re-election.

People often forget just how revolutionary is the concept of democracy. Prior to the American Revolution, in all of human history, no large-scale societies had ever been governed by the people, rather than a ruler or oligarchy. In Abraham Lincoln’s ringing phrase, America is a government of the people, by the people, and for the people. And the single most important principle of American democracy is the commitment to abide by the result of an election.

When George Washington declined to run for a third presidential term, he established the precedent that in a democracy, a leader’s position is temporary. Four years later, when John Adams lost the presidential election to Thomas Jefferson, he established the precedent that a defeated incumbent would cooperate in the peaceful transfer of power. This is the key to democracy; without the peaceful transfer of power, a democracy can rapidly fall into revolution and counter-revolution, destroying lives and the fabric of the nation.

Refusing to abide by election results is a direct attack on democracy, and should be met with revulsion and steadfast opposition by all Americans.

Trump supporters may claim that Trump cannot make such a commitment because the Deep State is out to get him, and will steal the election. This is absurd conspiracy-mongering, but if he is so concerned, he should call for our staunchest allies, the United Kingdom and Canada, to provide independent election observers that can evaluate election fairness.

When Donald Trump refuses to commit to the peaceful transfer of power, he is attacking the very foundation of America.

Rather than making America great again, he is fighting against the principles of democracy that have made it the greatest nation in the history of the world.

This is why I believe voting for Donald Trump’s re-election is an evil act.

This doesn’t necessarily mean that voting for Donald Trump makes you an evil person. Verbal abuse is an evil act. So is murder. They are not equal in their degree of evil.

All of us are guilty of committing evil acts, but most of them are petty enough that they are outweighed by the good we do. As I noted in my previous essay, Donald Trump’s petty form of evil has caused so much damage only because he won the presidency; if he remained a so-so real-estate developer and reality TV star, he couldn’t actually do that much harm.

But committing an evil act is still ultimately evil. When you do so, you are incurring a permanent stain on your character. For example, if you and I know each other, and I learn that you voted for Donald Trump in 2020, I would incorporate that fact into my judgment of your character. Your many other deeds might very well outweigh that evil act, but even if I still thought well of you, I would think less well of you than if you hadn’t committed this evil act.

Nor do I think I’m alone. I believe that a majority of Americans agree with me, and that the proportion of people who feel this way will only increase over time. Decades from now, we will look back on voting for Donald Trump in 2020 like we look back on supporting segregation or slavery; a major character defect that reflects poorly on the person committing that act.

This is your last chance to avoid this fate. Donald Trump is going to lose this election. Do not vote for him, even if you don’t agree that doing so is evil. Voting for Trump will not change the outcome; Trump saw to that with his incompetence as President and on the campaign trail. But voting for Trump will stain your character, and worse, will forever haunt your relationship with your (future?) children and grandchildren.

Decades from now, they will wonder how their beloved parent or grandparent, who–to all appearances–was a good person, could possibly have voted for Donald Trump. They will avoid discussing issues with you, and possibly even avoid spending time with you, both to avoid conflict, and out of fear that you might try to pass on your beliefs to their children.

On Election Day, you face a stark choice. Will you choose the founding principles of America and your reputation with future generations? Or will you choose Donald Trump?

The choice is yours, and so are the consequences.