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Nose for News by Sarah Stultz

In less than one week, the voting will be complete, and we will have a winner (maybe) of this much-awaited presidential election.

Whether you voted early or will be doing your civic duty next week on the traditional Election Day, I hope you do just that: Vote.

While I will be more than happy when the election is past, I’m sure the turmoil won’t be over.

Will the candidates gracefully win or lose? How will the transition to the next president go? Will there be more things take place that haven’t even been brought up yet?

I hope whatever happens, Americans can take a deep breath and return to working in their local communities and beyond to make this world a better place. Can people use the enthusiasm and conviction that they have for partisan politics and turn it into a drive to improve our own cities and neighborhoods?

Maybe, just maybe, I will someday be able to scroll through Facebook and not see one post that’s political. Sigh — wouldn’t that be nice?

Right now, my social media feed is inundated with posts from both Republican and Democratic friends. While I enjoy seeing the concerns of all sides, I will be glad when America’s ongoing blood pressure, so to speak, can go down and return to a healthy level.

I’m concerned, however, that the craziness we’re all experiencing right now — the tiptoeing around and walking on eggshells — will never go away. That instead of classifying someone by the work they do or the kindness they exhibit, people will always categorize others as one party or another.

That’s why I have always preferred covering local politics such as city and county governments, where there are not partisan designations, and people can instead work together based on common goals — instead of bickering about who will get their way based on which political party has the majority.

Buckle up, folks. I’m afraid we have a long way to go.

Remember that though we can’t control the actions of others, we can control ourselves — whether that is reactions to things that happen, how we spend our time or whether we will work to bridge groups instead of bring them apart.

I don’t know about you, but I want to be a bridge.

Sarah Stultz is the managing editor of the Tribune. Her column appears every Wednesday.