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These have been the glory days of fall.
Simultaneously, these are the anxious and exciting days leading up to our Nov. 5 elections. We all have a part to play in this, America’s family drama. We may disagree but it’s important to discern between the impulse to bring the house crashing down versus showing up to patiently mend the cracks of our inherited home. We apply ourselves to the task of preserving and improving what is imperfect yet promising, for our children’s sake.
We are a melting pot nation, a fact we are proud to proclaim except when elections roll around and an enemy from within or an outsider is needed to vilify in order to divide us. It’s not new that America’s welcome is begrudging. Only over time does she lift up and celebrate the contributions of her new citizens. Most American families have experienced this. Go back a generation or two.
Entertainment and governance are very different qualities. With all that has happened, and all that we have come to know over these past four years, it is hard to imagine voting for the Big Lie without blushing. Jan. 6, 2021 was not a day of love, and I think we all know it. Defending a flailing candidate lacking integrity or coherence amounts to a willful disregard for the very democracy so many have secured at great cost.
We live in a beautiful place in a beautiful season. Out of respect for all the ways we’ve been blessed, let’s join together with optimism and forbearance and move forward with confidence.
George Mason
Nobleboro
Election notice: The BDN will stop accepting letters and columns related to the Nov. 5 election on Wednesday, Oct. 30. Not all submissions can be published.
