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This is it. The last week before things start to ramp up and get even more uncomfortable.

Next Tuesday, the day after Labor Day, marks the beginning of a significant shift. It鈥檚 the day when the casual voters 鈥� yes, the ones more interested in Pumpkin Spice Lattes than politics 鈥� finally start paying attention to the upcoming election. These are the folks who鈥檝e been blissfully detached, enjoying their summer without a care for campaign trails or policy debates. But now, like it or not, they鈥檙e about to dive into the fray.

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If you鈥檙e a regular MyNorthwest reader or 成人X站 Newsradio listener, you鈥檙e probably already in the loop. You know the candidates, the issues and the stakes. But now, you鈥檙e about to be joined by the broader public, and you know what that means: Social media is about to become a battlefield.

Your friends, neighbors and even Aunt Irma with her famous casserole recipes will suddenly have a lot to say about politics. And let鈥檚 be honest, some of those opinions are going to make you want to scream. You鈥檒l see fake news spreading like wildfire, bizarre conclusions that defy logic and arguments that will make you question whether we all live on the same planet. Your faith in humanity is about to be tested daily, if not hourly.

And yet, here鈥檚 the crux of the matter: People you disagree with may be wrong, but that doesn鈥檛 make them bad people. Over the past few election cycles, we鈥檝e seen a dangerous trend. Some Democrats have become convinced that MAGA supporters are not just mistaken, but stupid, if not outright evil. On the flip side, some Republicans have started to view Democrats as literally, not figuratively, demonic in their beliefs.

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Is this really where we are? Is this the state of political discourse in our country? The other side isn鈥檛 just an opponent to be debated 鈥� they鈥檙e an enemy to be vanquished? If so, that鈥檚 a scary place to be.

As we head into what鈥檚 sure to be a heated election season, maybe we can try something different. Instead of writing off the person you disagree with as stupid, try this: Consider that they hold one particular belief that you find foolish. They鈥檙e still good people. They don鈥檛 share your views, but that doesn鈥檛 make them evil. It just makes them 鈥� different. They鈥檙e not your enemies; they鈥檙e just regular folks with a different perspective.

Now, I won鈥檛 sugarcoat it 鈥� this isn鈥檛 going to be easy. This election season is shaping up to be more contentious than ever. People are going to be at each other鈥檚 throats, and patience will be in short supply. But maybe, just maybe, if we can turn the temperature down just a notch this year, we might be able to have conversations that are more constructive and less destructive to the fabric of our country.

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Because let鈥檚 face it. We all care about this nation. We all want what鈥檚 best for it, even if we don鈥檛 always agree on what that looks like. If we can remember that, we might just get through this election season without tearing each other apart.

So take a deep breath, brace yourself for the weeks ahead and remember, at the end of the day, we鈥檙e all in this together, even when it feels like we couldn鈥檛 be further apart. Let鈥檚 try to keep that in mind as we navigate the coming political storm. After all, this country we love deserves no less.

Charlie Harger is the News Director for MyNorthwest.com and 成人X站 Newsradio

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