Okay. One serious minute.

Every election now comes with the same message from both sides: the other half of the country is evil, and if they win, it’s over. We’ve heard it so many times that a lot of us have started to believe it.

We don’t. Most of the people on the other side of your ballot aren’t your enemies. They’re your neighbors, your coworkers, the guy who helped jump your car last winter. They want a lot of what you want. They’re just scared of different things.

Bigfoot is a joke. The point behind him isn’t. A pledge here is a way of saying you’re tired of being told who to hate, and you’d like a little more kindness and a lot more listening, from whoever ends up in charge and from the rest of us too.

That’s it. Now back to the forest.