We write this week before the polls close, and before the winners are known. We write at the conclusion of a campaign that may be described most charitably as long – many would say interminable – and perhaps more accurately as largely joyless and corrosive.

That all starts at the presidential level, of course, where the race has taken up the better part of two years. Bruising primary contests resulted in the major parties nominating two of the most disliked candidates in the nation’s history. The ensuing months of street fight-caliber politicking and increasingly charged, inflammatory rhetoric do not need to be rehashed here. Anyone who even occasionally flips through a newspaper, watches the nightly news, or logs in to Facebook is at this point certainly well aware of what has taken place.

The unfortunate tone of the 2016 campaign has seeped into races on all levels, more so than in any other election cycle in recent memory. We’ve seen it in contests for mayor, for seats in the General Assembly, for positions on city and town councils and school boards.

On one hand, people are clearly engaged in civic discourse. That is to be applauded, and encouraged. On the other hand, however, we have seen an unmistakable rise in polarization – a growing propensity of voters and officials, whatever their place on the spectrum, to dismiss out of hand the views and concerns of others. That is deeply troubling.

The stakes, no doubt, are high, and not only at the presidential level. Here in Rhode Island, voters will decide between starkly contrasting options in a number of races. The results will do much to shape the Ocean State and its communities for the next two years and beyond.

We hope that once the dust is settled, no matter who emerges victorious, we can collectively commit ourselves to finding common ground and seeking common-sense solutions to the many challenges we face. We particularly hope our leaders – in Washington, D.C., on Smith Hill, and in city and town halls – strive to set an example for those they have been privileged to serve.

We do not expect some unprecedented era of unity. Our history is filled with episodes even more charged and challenging than the present. Vigorous debate is vital to the functioning of our republic.

Our history also tells us that no individual has a monopoly on good ideas, that no single party or ideology has the right answer to every issue. It has shown us, again and again, that compromise is not a dirty word, but is indeed the only real path forward.

Campaign 2016 has drawn to a close. Let this be the start of a new, brighter chapter for Rhode Island and the nation.