Taking stock of who we are post-election

It’s Nov. 4, 2020, a day in American history that demands to be bookmarked. This is The Day After. The Day After an Election Day that under normal circumstances still would have been an exclamation point on a bruising campaign showdown between two septuagenarians to determine who will navigate the nation through a pandemic that has changed the course of billions of lives.

COVID-19, ironically, probably spared us from an even uglier election season. And maybe, just maybe, it made us appreciate exactly what’s at stake on this, and every, Election Day.

All of the numbers aren’t in yet, but voters have clearly been engaged in recent weeks. That’s the way it should be every October. High voter turnout should be a steady November drumbeat, not a staccato rhythm interrupted by silence based on who is at the top of the ballot. Voting is the purest expression of our freedom.

The people have spoken, albeit through masks, and measures must be taken to ensure each vote is counted regardless of how long that takes. Changing the rules would be like ending a game before the clock runs out because your team is ahead.

In the spirit of how youth sports have been diminished in recent months, it’s worth noting that one of the greatest benefits of introducing children to competition is to teach them how to lose gracefully. In a national election so divided we need not name the candidates, both sides would serve as appropriate models by accepting the results with dignity.

Voting is reliably a measure of who we are, as individuals and as a nation. In this year of solitude, the only way for the states to became united may be to pause and recognize the sacrifices all candidates make.

They put their names on the line for the sake of public service. Sure, there is a nominal salary for members of the Connecticut General Assembly, but that $ 28,000 barely surpasses minimum wage.

So consider taking a moment to thank the 2020 candidates. You may not agree with them, or be fuming at some of the victors, but they all deserve a measure of appreciation for answering this call to duty.

Connecticut legislators will have a full plate after they are sworn in. At some point, hopefully soon, Gov. Ned Lamont needs to engage these representatives more deeply to frame policies to revive a dim economy during what is poised to be the darkest of winters. If we’ve learned one thing from this pandemic, it’s that it will not be easily extinguished.

Anyone tuned into state candidates in recent weeks noticed there is clearly a thirst to have more discourse on complex issues such as police accountability and housing. Transportation trends are shifting wildly with many people working from home and others hesitant to ride the rails.

We’ve arrived at The Day After. We don’t know where we are yet, but there’s no looking back now.

The people have spoken, albeit through masks, and measures must be taken to ensure each vote is counted regardless of how long that takes. Changing the rules would be like ending a game before the clock runs out because your team is ahead.