It’s here. It’s finally election day. It’s finally time once again to let the American people weigh in on the direction of this country and who is going to lead it. This should normally be an encouraging and exciting day, but this year is anything but normal. I’m anxious and worried about not only who will win the big races, but how it will all go down.

My hope and wish is that when the dust settles, we will be through this national disgrace that has been the Trump presidency. It’s time to move forward as a nation and heal the wounds together.

Joe Biden is not our savior. He’s not perfect. He wasn’t many of our first, second, or even third choice for this position. But here we are in our two party system. To me, Joe Biden represents a giant step forward to return the presidency and our country to a position of respect and leadership. I think he’s a good man who generally cares about people and this country. That used to be a given about most politicians, but not anymore.

We need a president that is rooted in basic morals, decency, and respect for the office, and for the American people as a whole. The longer we continue to normalize deception, lies, divisiveness, and selfish gains over the public good, the further our country fails into disrepair. It will take multiple presidents and perhaps an entire generation to repair the damage that has been done to our political system but we have to start somewhere. I think Joe can be the start.

If Trump is defeated, my hope is that the Republicans who claim to be men-of-character and decency will realize that hitching their wagon to him is no longer a positive political choice. I hope they embrace a new reality where working together with Democrats to compromise and find a working model of government is a priority. I hope we can go back to peacefully and respectfully disagreeing on policy decisions. It’s perfectly acceptable for us to have disagreements but it should be on the basis of facts and perspectives instead of fears, hate, and lies. I remain, perhaps foolishly, optimistic that politics can return to being boring and uninteresting in pursuit of the greater public good again.

I want to return to the days where if someone in public office lies, cheats, or does something illegal, then they are removed from office in a sweeping and bipartisan fashion. No one is above the law. We’ve lost our way here and it’s a dangerous trend that left unchecked will cause more damage than we’ll ever know.

History will not look back fondly upon this time in our country. This has been a time when we squandered our position of integrity and respect in the world. We’ve lost our way when it comes to fairness, reason, and a guiding moral compass. But how we act on this day and the next few weeks will chart our course for the decades to come.

This isn’t a normal election. This is us, planting a flag in the ground, and standing up for what is good, right, and the best for all of us.

I hope.