No matter the outcome, let’s work together

We finally made it. The campaign that basically began 4 years ago finally comes to an end today as voters head to the polls. Although we’ve longed for the day when this election will be over, odds are it won’t be over by the end of the day. We likely won’t know who won until tomorrow or even later. And even then it is likely that no matter the outcome, the legal wrangling will begin. Battles over the counting of ballots, the validity of ballots, even dangling chads could get tied up in courts for weeks or longer. It is possible that the end to this battle may not come for some time. No matter who wins, about half of the country will be upset with the result. But no matter the outcome, we need to respect the results. We need to learn to get along with those with whom we disagree politically. We need to work together to develop bipartisan solutions to our shared problems. We need a more civil discourse and to start listening to one another. To be more respectful of one another. To bridge the divisiveness. That won’t be easy, with America seemingly more torn apart than ever before. But it has become increasingly clear that we can’t count on the politicians to bridge the divide. It will be up to us. So no matter the outcome tonight, or whenever we learn the final results, let’s do better as Americans and realize that no matter our differences, we are all in this together. Let’s hope that after tonight, it is all over, even the shouting.