We all get sick. Usually it's something small like a cold and we get over it. In the same way the body politic can get sick. Sometimes a sickness like fascism or communism destroys a country unless there's preventive medicine or change. Sometimes a strong state becomes so rotten or weak it just dies as in the case of the Roman Empire. Hatreds, bred and nurtured, can erupt in war and carnage. Much depends of course on enlightened leadership. The founding fathers of America are an example of enlightened leadership and put in place a system, which they believed would be flexible enough to bend with the forces of time and history. Sometimes, however, there's a cancer, which has to be cut out. Slavery was one, taking the lives of half a million Americans. Combating Japanese militarism and German dreams of world hegemony cost another half million Americans and two million Japanese. It is important to remember that hatred is one of the key ingredients, a cancer that can destroy a country.

For the sake of our health, those who encourage hatred and division must be rejected. Voting is one medicine, which will help build a healthier Union. Let's all go vote!