Dr. James Dobson Newsletter Archives

Dr. James Dobson: Your Vote Matters!

Written by Dr. James Dobson | September 2024

Dear Friend,

Since my most recent letter to you, the culture has rolled on at a frantic pace. For example, President Joe Biden was thrown out of the presidential race, and Vice President Kamala Harris was named the Democratic party's presidential nominee. Harris chose the ultra-liberal governor of Minnesota, Tim Walz, as her running mate. Together, they represent the most radicalized Left presidential ticket in American history,1 and the liberal media has done all it can to present them in a favorable light.

While all of this was occurring, the opening ceremony of the Paris Olympics blatantly mocked the Christian faith with an obscene depiction of The Last Supper featuring drag queens.2 Many Christian leaders throughout the world condemned the blasphemous spectacle, and others refused to watch the Olympics.3 However, President Biden and Vice President Harris chose to remain silent and, in doing so, turned their backs on the millions of people who acknowledge Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior.

These are very troubling events, and I am deeply concerned about the state of our nation and the world. We are living in a time of great moral divide. Unless Christians engage in the upcoming election, this beloved land of liberty, which has been a beacon of hope to the world through the centuries, may become a distant memory that future generations will only read about in history books. It saddens me to think that this could be the fate of our children and grandchildren. The words I wrote several years ago are even more relevant today, and I hope they will inspire us all to engage in this critical moment with great conviction.


I recall a ubiquitous bumper sticker during the revolution of the 1960s that read, "What if they gave a war and nobody came?" It was a catchy phrase that made sense to those who opposed the Vietnam War. But my reaction to it then and now is, "What if they gave a war and only one side came?" That question keeps me awake at night. There are millions of passive Americans out there today, many of them Christians, who are clueless about what is happening to their homeland. They are losing something precious and irreplaceable. Do they not understand that their children and those yet to be born will live in tyranny if we fail them on our watch? Countless young men and women have laid down their lives on battlefields worldwide to protect liberty and our way of life. Now, what they purchased for us with their blood is slipping away.

Disengaged people won't lift a finger to preserve this great land. They won't take even a few minutes to vote at their polling places. There are also thousands of pastors who won't allow voting registration tables in the lobbies of their churches. Don't they know or care that America is on the verge of being destroyed? Hordes of angry anarchists are salivating over the next election, hoping to push America over a cliff. If they succeed, as Newt Gingrich said, it is the end of civilization as we've known it.4 Is there anyone left who believes some things are worth dying for? Aren't there patriots like Patrick Henry, who said in defiance of British tyranny, "Give me liberty or give me death!"? That was the spirit during his day. The Declaration of Independence closed with these words endorsed by the signers, "We pledge to each other our lives, our fortunes, and our sacred honor." They knew they would be hanged if they lost the war. Why did they do it? Because they loved their country enough to die for it.

I pray for the emergence of intimidated Americans who will come out of their hiding places to let their voices be heard on Election Day. There must be tens of thousands of ministers in our midst who, like the Black Robed Regiment of the Revolutionary War, will strip off their clerical garb and fight valiantly for religious liberty. If these men and women of faith don't come to the rescue of their country, it is doomed.

During the Civil War, untold soldiers gave their lives to preserve the integrity of the United States of America and to end the tragedy of slavery. Here is the question of the hour: Are you and our brothers and sisters willing to carry the bloodstained banner around which our predecessors rallied?


We are approximately two months away from determining America's next chapter. All of us should prayerfully consider the actions that we can pursue to make a difference. We must treat this election, and likely every one after it, as our last opportunity to save America and the core virtues that have sustained it.

The Left's leadership is determined to march our nation toward a future that is devoid of God in an effort to dismantle "America the Beautiful." It is a satanically warped vision where religious freedom is expunged, free speech is canceled, womanhood is erased, healthy children are mutilated by gender altering surgeries, parental rights are diminished, our borders are unsecured, non-citizens are allowed to vote, equity trumps merit, the unborn are slaughtered, government control expands, the Supreme Court is packed so the Left controls every decision made, and our God-given freedoms are attacked in all areas of life. Do not miss what is at stake! Those who are in favor of this radicalized regime want to destroy America as we know it.5 We cannot allow this to happen on our watch! Do we possess the same resolve as Patrick Henry and the other Founding Fathers who sacrificed everything for life and liberty? I pray we do.

Given the breadth and depth of the moral issues, how can any professing Christian remain silent during this crisis? It's been stated that "all that is necessary for evil to triumph is that good men do nothing."6 History has shown this to be true, and it is our turn now to carry the bloodstained banner of America if this grand experiment is to persist.

In response to this tremendous need, the JDFI Dobson Policy Center has launched a Countdown to Decision 2024 initiative to inspire Christians to pray, engage, and vote in the upcoming election. It's not enough to do just one of these; we must do all three—pray, engage, and vote—knowing that we can accomplish nothing of eternal value without the Lord's hand. I ask you today to commit to this effort.

Let me conclude with Paul's encouraging words to the Corinthian church: "Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain." (1 Corinthians 15:58, ESV)

May God bless you and your family.

James C. Dobson, Ph.D.
Founder Chairman
Dr. James Dobson Family Institute

1 McCarthy, S.A. (August 8, 2024) Conservatives React to ‘Radical’ Harris-Walz Ticket, The Washington Stand (FRC), https://washingtonstand.com/news/conservatives-react-to-radical-harriswalz-ticket

2 Smith, Alexander & Burke, Minyvonne (July 29, 2024) Olympic opening ceremony drag performance resembling Last Supper rankles conservatives, NBC News, https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/drag-performance-resembling-last-supper-olympicsopening-ceremony-rcna163927

3 ibid

4 Ballasy, Nicholas (June 26, 2020) Allowing vandals to destroy statues is 'the end of civilization as we've known it,' Gingrich says, Just the News, https://justthenews.com/nation/culture/allowing-vandals-destroy-statues-end-civilization-weve-known-it-gingrichsays

5 Quintanilla, Milton (August 9, 2024) Faith Leaders Weigh In on Kamala Harris' Selection of Tim Walz as VP, Crosswalk, https://www.crosswalk.com/headlines/contributors/milton-quintanilla/faith-leaders-weigh-in-on-kamala-harris-selection-oftim-walz-as-vp.html

6 Burke, Edmund, Britannica, https://www.britannica.com/quotes/Edmund-Burke-British-philosopher-and-statesman

This letter may be reproduced without change and in its entirety for non-commercial and non-political purposes without prior permission from the Dr. James Dobson Family Institute. Copyright, 2024 JDFI. All Rights Reserved. International Copyright Secured. Printed in the U.S.