I recently stood in the early voting line for two hours and 45 minutes on Independence Square, along with more than a hundred others. In these fraught times, it was reassuring to find that during the long wait all remained cordial as we chatted and joked to pass the time.

Alongside me was a 90-year-old woman with her dog in a pet carrier, committed to exercising her right to vote, despite the challenges. The whole experience was inspiring—a reminder that decency can rise above political partisanship, and that the often nasty world of social media is not our daily world., any more than "reality TV" is actual reality. These are lessons to be cherished, no matter the election outcome.

October 25:

With all the conversation of late about fascism, defining terms is really important if civil conversation is the goal.

In his book How Fascism Works: The Politics of Us and Them (2018), Jason Stanley defined fascism thusly:

[A] cult of the leader who promises national restoration in the face of humiliation brought on by supposed communists, Marxists and minorities and immigrants who are supposedly posing a threat to the character and the history of a nation ... The leader proposes that only he can solve it and all of his political opponents are enemies or traitors.'

A more extensive treatment is Madeleine Albright's book, Fascism: A Warning.

October 1: "Our election yard sign..." (above)