The studio where I do my daily radio broadcast has 13 versions of the American flag suspended on the walls and windows, creating an ongoing and welcome overload of red, white and blue. Aside from the typical examples of Old Glory, I am blessed with other interesting illustrations of emblematic nationalism.

Directly behind me, as I stand at the console, covering the entire wall (but notably missing stars for both Alaska and Hawaii), is a worn and tattered 48-star, 70-year-old rendition of our Stars and Stripes. Next to that behemoth are, proudly suspended, two Honor and Remember banners dedicated to soldiers lost in combat. Across the room, concealed slightly behind a radio microphone, is one bright yellow "Don't Tread on Me" Gadsden flag, and above that, slightly to the right, is a streamer paying homage to Betsy Ross.

The idea is to fill the room with a light-hearted but unapologetic sense of American pride. However, as a reminder of the true cost of freedom, positioned straight in front of me and always in view, are two folded triangular-shaped American flags enclosed in a black framed wooden-glass casing. One of these special flags came with an official proclamation and a federal seal with a document that reads "This certifies that this flag was flown over the United States Capitol at the request of Congressman Joe Courtney" — and is dedicated to a local man who died on 9/11. The second of these exclusive flags also flew over the Capitol and represents an Iraq war veteran who never came home.

Why am I sharing these details of my star-spangled radio studio with all of you?

On Election night, I sat in here, haunted by the same paraphernalia I celebrate every single day. This country is entangled in something bigger than a simple presidential election and we are at a crossroads, increasingly divided, with ideals and aspirations moving in polar opposite directions.

Are the American freedoms we've coveted for so long on the verge of ultra-left progressive attack? Democrat defenders will contend Joe Biden is a moderate and will govern as such, but we all know Senator Kamala Harris lurks in the shadows.

People did not vote for Joe Biden; they voted against President Donald Trump and, for that matter, against certain constitutional ideologies conservatives consider essential. Biden voters, by definition, are perfectly content with ripping apart history, tearing down statues, dismantling law enforcement, and fundamentally wanting to transform America

The presidency is normally decided on specific issues such as, taxes, heath care, abortion, climate change, unemployment or immigration. But the 2020 presidential election was a referendum on America itself. It consumed our nation and the embers that fueled this inferno were constantly stoked by the left-leaning media. Half of the nation felt the person in the White House represented the ideals of American patriotism while the other half was consumed with an unbridled, often undeserving hatred of the Commander in Chief.

Trump is far from perfect and was never my first choice to be president. However, given the choice between pretentious patriotism and no patriotism, I'll take the bombastic candidate every time.

With the 2020 presidential election still in limbo as of this writing, it will be fascinating to observe the reaction if Biden is eventually declared the winner. Will hate follow Biden like it pursued and attached itself to Trump?

Allow me to recall the words of Abraham Lincoln:

“Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal. Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation or any nation so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure. We are met on a great battlefield of that war…

“This nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom — and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth."

We need to remember we are Americans First.

Lee Elci is the morning host for 94.9 News Now radio, a station that provides "Stimulating Talk" with a conservative bent.