Finally, the election is upon us, and I’m pretty sure we’ll all breathe a sigh of relief when it’s over. No more mailboxes and recycling bins jammed with flyers. No more television ads, promoting or excoriating candidates. And, one can hope, more dollars available for deserving causes instead of campaign coffers.

However, there’s also a chance of a grim post-election outcome, regardless of who wins.

I received a letter recently (that I refuse to print), describing the Democratic Party as a “Demonic Death Cult under the power and influence of Satan” (misspelled as Santan). It gets worse after that.

A buddy had all his political signs ripped out and destroyed last week.

And a visitor to our office was convinced that the Lake County Election Office hadn’t mailed out all of the absentee ballots, and was ready to place a full-page ad to the effect. The rumor was quickly dispelled with a quick call to the election administrator.

The national airwaves are full of news stories about efforts to subvert voting, and threats of what might happen in the wake of the presidential election. Proud Boy founder Gavin McInnes even proclaimed in a BBC documentary he wants to “Make America Hate Again.”

Calm down please. The United States has held federal elections since 1788, when George Washington famously was chosen for his first term as president. We’ve been doing this successfully ever since, even during the Civil War and World War II.

Trusting those results is a cornerstone of our democracy, and despite false allegations to the contrary, voting still matters and the system is still reliable. If you doubt that, take a break from your news feed and spend some time as an election judge. I promise, you’ll gain a healthy respect for the process.

As to demonizing the other party, let’s just stop. A successful democracy requires its members to be informed, understand that not everyone holds the same opinion, and find a modicum of respect for their fellow citizens. We seem to have lost that in the last eight years.  

Growing up in Montana, and spending most of my life in rural communities, I know for a fact that my neighbors – regardless of political views – have my back. If my battery is dead on a frigid morning, or my pipes freeze during a week of minus 30 degrees, or I've got a flat tire on a gravel road, someone is going to lend a hand. And they won’t ask which party I belong to.

Let’s keep that in mind, shall we? We’re neighbors first. And never, we hope, enemies.