Election Day!

Election day! Whether you are conservative or liberal, young or old, whether your candidate comes in 2nd, 3rd, or never made it out of the gate, please remember that we have the privilege of living in the greatest nation in the history of mankind.?? Whatever the outcome of this election of these two flawed candidates, please be committed.

Please be committed to be an upbeat, positive force in your community, in your career, in life.

Please be committed to shun the negativity and demonizing of any opinion or person that differs from yours.

Please be committed to step up to bring about the change that you want to see, whether volunteering for a food bank, assisting with elder care, or being a Big Brother/Sister.

There are literally thousands of wonderful ways to contribute that you are not doing …yet.

Join a new charity and totally immerse yourself in “Service Above Self.”

Be committed to do more than spending the next few years on FB posting negative, non-productive posts that lack fact-checking or that depend on media propaganda, (CNN, Fox, MSNBC, et al.)

I’ve been voting since 1976. I’ve come to embrace what Mr. Ross Price shared with me on my wedding day in 1994. Ross was tough as nails, an ex-Marine buddy of my father-in-law, a 65-year old witty, successful liberal Dem from Sacramento. I recall it like it was this morning, sitting at a popular sports bar in Cedar Falls, Iowa, at halftime of a Hawkeye game. When we both got “animated” drilling down on politics, me pontificating about fiscal responsibility, Big Ross suddenly leaned in, began to stare right through me . . . and then started grinning from ear-to-ear to say, “You know what, Marty? What I know for sure is that no matter who has been in office, we all live a pretty good life, a life that is better than 95% of the entire world.?? Never forget that.”

That was true throughout his lifetime, and it has proven true throughout my 40 years of voting.?? I miss Ross and Dad, but they were spot-on.?? Both were committed to community service, had a lifetime of giving back to their communities, and both were committed to bringing about the changes they wanted to see.?? Two bigger than life, tough-as-nails, ex-Marines, best friends with wildly different political views, passionate about this great country of ours.

Be led by faith, not fear, and be COMMITTED to make a difference.