To the editor:

Like much of America, I’m nervous for Tuesday and nervous for what comes after Tuesday. Both sides of our political spectrum think the world is falling apart, and both sides blame the other for it. We’re buying guns, we’re scheming on ways to escape, we’re harboring hate for our neighbors.

What I hope is that whatever happens on election day, we come out of it with the desire to reaffirm our social contract with each other, to revive our sense of community because the world’s problems — climate change, the pandemic, massive inequality, the rise of extreme hate, the rampant belief in conspiracy — aren’t going away come Tuesday. Finding the solutions is going to take all of us coming together to decide what our country stands for.

What does it mean to be an American? What does it ask of us as citizens? What type of society do we want to live in? I’m voting for Joe Biden, but my love for America and America’s potential runs deeper than my love for any party. I am sick of the divide. We’re on a difficult road and it’s looking like it will only get rockier. We need each other. I really hope Biden wins, but either way I’m looking forward to when we can take down our lawn signs and focus on rebuilding the citizenry we owe each other.

David Rysdahl

New Ulm