As the prospect of a new administration gets closer to reality, the attacks are ramping up and increasingly ugly. Both parties are racing to the wire with mailbox flyers and television ads designed to leave an emotional scar on our subconscious as we get ready to vote. I took advantage of early voting and went down to our fantastic new courthouse building and cast my ballot using the electronic devices provided, made my selections, printed out the completed ballot and placed it in the ballot box provided.

Some think that election day should be a national holiday where we would all celebrate our right to vote and make it a day where we cast our ballot and enjoy a little bit of time off work. I like the idea but it’s also important to make sure everyone who is eligible to vote has the best opportunity to have their voice heard and therefore early voting and mail-in ballots have become commonplace.

The problem with mail-in ballots and early voting is the amount of potential for shenanigans and mistakes. In a country where millions are eligible to vote, it makes sense that there are going to be some calculation errors and ballot integrity issues. The famous scenes in the Gore/Bush elections with people determining hanging chads and other minutia involved in the process had the results delayed for weeks.

The narrative follows two distinctive conspiratorial paths — people will cheat and/or people won’t get to vote. It’s two ideas that deserve our attention if we plan to preserve our republic. But too often the stories and accounts of voter suppression, ballot harvesting, and misplaced electronic votes have risen to the status of legend in our electorate. Was President Trump cheated out of a second term? Should Gore have been our 43rd President?

Tough questions that were answered by the passage of time as Bush was re-elected for a second term and Trump is running for a second term this cycle. It’s too early to tell but this election is shaping up to be as close as many of the past few — if you trust polling data. But the bottom line is who are we going to trust as we move forward after November 5th? The real question is how fractured will we become once the dust has settled.

I’ve written this in past columns but I’m making the case again for a little bit of faith in each other that has gotten us to this point in our republic. It isn’t perfect and there is likely evidence for every single one of the narratives floating around on social media. But, faith simply means that we’re going to put our hope in something that transcends the results of an election. We are going to realize that more of what happens to us locally is up to us unless we capitulate to feeling hopeless and angry about who gets elected nationally.

Maybe you have zero faith in the system and you think it needs to be disrupted…I guess you are voting for Trump. Maybe you have faith in the system and think it just needs some fine tuning…I guess you are voting for Harris. Or maybe you think it’s all a waste of time, money and attention….I guess you might be sitting this one out.

Regardless of your position, you should feel compelled to vote your conscience and discuss your ideas and perspectives even with people you don’t agree with. But, please! No busted windows and mass violence because that’s what our real enemies want. Hate on each other, divide up into tribes, demonize the other side, refuse to accept reality — all of these lead to only one thing: an erosion of our faith in each other. Please vote for your candidate and let’s figure out how to move forward together on November the 6th. Please!

Lance Scranton is a career educator and has made his home in Moffat County for the past 26 years. He offers his views and opinions as part of the ongoing conversation about our community, country and world. Reach him at lance.scranton@consultant.com.