The upcoming 2024 American Presidential election carries unprecedented significance, potentially shaping the nation’s governance and trajectory for decades to come. Why is it the most important election of our lifetime? Inflation, immigration, crime, and national security are all important reasons, and all would seem to favor the Republicans. And don’t forget the Second Amendment?

Inflation has surged during the President Joe Biden-Vice President Kamala Harris administration. In early 2022 during the Biden-Harris administration, inflation soared to 9.1%, a level not seen since 1981.

This increase can be attributed to two primary factors: escalating energy costs linked to the Green New Deal and substantial fiscal policy measures such as the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan and the 1,750 trillion-dollar Bipartisan Infrastructure Act. As a result, Americans have been experiencing the impact of inflation directly. Grocery prices, for instance, surged by 21 percent since the beginning of 2021 under the Biden/Harris leadership, marking the highest inflation rate since the Great Depression, in the Roosevelt era.

In the area of illegal immigration, the Biden-Harris administration initiated a policy that resulted in a significant increase in illegal immigration at the southern border. According to the reports, the number of illegal immigrants entering the United States has doubled under their administration, totaling approximately 10 million individuals (comprising 8.5 million encounters and 1.5 million individuals who evaded detection). This influx, as noted by Fox News, surpasses the population of 38 states. Moreover, the surge in 10 million new illegal immigrants is expected to place considerable strain on social services such as healthcare, hospitals and school capacities, thus increasing taxes on American citizens.

Reports from cable news network Breitbart suggested that Venezuela had released violent prisoners who then crossed into the U.S. via the southern border.

Various news media outlets also highlighted instances where American citizens were victims of crimes like rape, murder, extortion, and carjacking committed by illegal immigrants. The U.S. Border Patrol noted 172 encounters, in fiscal year 2023, with individuals listed on the federal government’s known or suspected terrorists list, a notable increase from 100 in 2022 and 16 in 2021.

Former Defense Secretary Robert Gates stated “I think he (Joe Biden) has been wrong on nearly every major foreign policy and national security issue over the past four decades.”

Biden ordered the complete retreat and withdrawal from Afghanistan on August 30, 2021, marking the end of the 2001-2021 war. The withdrawal was the most embarrassing moment in U.S. military history leaving thousands of Americans and Afghans supporting the war effort behind and an estimated seven billion dollars’ worth of weapons and equipment including an estimated 48 million dollars’ worth of ammunition. Zelgai Sajad, the former Afghan consul general in New York stated, “The Taliban are feeling power to implement their barbaric rules on the people of Afghanistan.”

Many experts think President Biden’s disastrous retreat and withdrawal from Afghanistan emboldened closer coordination between the “new axis of evil” (Russia, China, Iran, North Korea). On Feb. 24, 2023, Russia invaded Ukraine. The United States is the weakest it has been for decades and they, the “new axis of evil,” believe now is the time to make world-wide changes.

In September 2023, the Biden-Harris administration handed over sixteen billion dollars to Iran. Shortly thereafter, Hamas launched an unprecedented and brutal attack against Israel on October 7, 2023, killing about 1,200 Israelis and kidnapping approximately 250 hostages. Additionally, Hezbollah started bombarding Israel from the north.

During the President Donald Trump years (2016-2020), due to U.S. Sanctions, Iran did not have the funds to support Hamas’, Hezbollah’, or Houthis’ operations and the middle east remained relatively quiet.

The 2024 presidential election is arguably the most crucial of our lifetime. Your vote ensures that future generations – your sons, daughters, grandsons and granddaughters – will enjoy the same rights we cherish today.

Please get out and vote. Your vote does matter.

Richard Lancaster is a Westfield resident.