The Democratic Imperative

We sit now in the midst of an election that is too close to call, where each side is convinced of the fallacies of the other, where misinformation and name calling seem to have somehow become acceptable. Many of us shake our heads at the state of our democracy and wonder, how did we get here?

People seem to like the idea of democracy when their side wins. And yet it seems that the true value of democracy is not just about using our right to vote but also about what we do before and after the vote. No matter who wins on election day (week), we must remember that the practice of democracy does not end at the ballot box. If we are to have a democratic country in the years to come, there is so much more that we must do.