That neighbor down the street with a yard full of signs for the other party’s candidates? Guess what – come Wednesday morning, or a week later if it takes that long to figure out election results, he will still be your neighbor.

The same goes for that coworker who could be a decent friend if you would allow yourself to get beyond your exaggerated political differences. Ditto as well for your Uncle Larry who is not a bad guy even if he watches too much disagreeable cable news and casts his ballot diametrically opposite from yours.

Soon enough, we will know the outcome of this election. And that neighbor will still be out there shoveling his walk and keeping an eye out for anything amiss. That coworker will still be sitting nearby in staff meetings. That older uncle will still be at Thanksgiving dinner. (Well, maybe you will get a one-year reprieve on a COVID-spiked holiday.)

This election will clear up much, starting with who will lead the executive and legislative branches of government for the coming years. But it will not clear the air. Or the animosity. Or the tribalism. Or the endless media division. Or the existential fear that the amorphous “they” on the other side are out to fundamentally change the nature of the country.

While the vote count might bring some momentary clarity, the work of healing America remains. In some quarters, even before worrying about the balm, a decision needs to be made as to whether this grand democratic experiment is worth saving.

I strongly believe that it is, while being cognizant of the abundant challenges we face.

Put succinctly, the great American divide has been long in coming. Plenty on both sides bear paternity.

We live now in a perpetual state of political and cultural inflammation. We know well the path of incitement and discord; but seldom seek out the trail of mitigation, relief and, on occasion, calm consensus.

Even before the election, both sides are prepared with a well-developed list of what steps to take to press the advantage, if victorious. Not insubstantial elements on both poles have given unveiled indication of their willingness to take to the streets if the results are not to their liking.

It is not just the Proud Boys who are, “standing back and standing by.”

With a health virus again roaring and a political virus that has built over decades, America needs an interlude of healing. In place of a shared national goal from years past of putting a man on the moon or bringing down the Iron Curtain, how about a newfound civic commitment to mending the divide and repairing a broken political system?

This is anything but a partisan indictment. As one example, Democrat Harry Reid and Republican Mitch McConnell are rather equally culpable for the bitterly dysfunctional mess that has become the U.S. Senate.

If there is to be a season of stitching and restoration, and even of unity, three attitudinal adjustments will be paramount.

First, restraint will have to replace opportunism. Just because one party or the other has the votes and the presidential pen to press a partisan advantage does not make it necessarily a good idea or wise move. Sometimes, it is best to let such opportunity pass.

Second, a halt has to be called to the endless cycle of tit-for-tat-for-tit-for-tat and “they started it”. Using the now discredited process of Supreme Court confirmations as an example, Republicans point with grievance to the harm done to Robert Bork and Brett Kavanaugh, among others. Democrats note with equally righteous dismay the treatment afforded witness Anita Hill and nominee Merrick Garland.

Enough already. We can all acknowledge that there are plenty of sinners and few saints. The only way to break a downward cycle is – wait for it – to break the cycle.

The third one should not be a difficult concept, but it has become all too rare. Namely, the national interest has to eclipse the parochial, partisan interest. Yet, far too many on both sides conflate the two or pick the wrong, narrow priority.

That is a trio of chastisements primarily for the governing class. Though those sorts in high office often act at the behest of their most energized and vocal supporters; or to keep those supporters at bay.

For those on the ground, the key is to expand beyond the echo chamber in which far too many live their lives. The first step involves stretching beyond one’s media bubble that has taken our tribal instincts and put them on steroids, especially the reinforcing algorithms of social media.

That neighbor, that coworker, that family relative is not your enemy. She is your fellow citizen — just one with a different outlook grounded in a different life experience and perhaps undergirded by a different set of values.

She has as deep an investment in this national enterprise as do you – and as much claim to the American dream. Instead of dismissing, diminishing, castigating or shunning her, wouldn’t you and the country as a whole be better off by earnestly trying to understand her and find elements of common ground?

We are headed into a time of darkness with shorter days, a virus again on the loose, and less ability to gather or venture out. But a vaccine will eventually arrive and winter in its time will yield to spring. Our politics, however, have been too dark for too long. With an election upon us to concentrate the mind, it is incumbent on all of us to find that cure, amplify those bonds and shed that light.