Election Day won't decide who fixes our country, only we have the power to do that

This editorial originally appeared in the Daily American Republic, a publication of Rust Communications, on Saturday, Oct. 31, 2020.

Election Day won't decide who fixes our country.

Yes, you read that right.

The day that we've been leading up to for months, even years, is not the answer to all of our country's problems.

It's absolutely an important day. It's a day when we all need to make our voices heard, to participate in the democracy that has been paid for in blood, sweat and tears.

But the one man we elect on Tuesday can't fix our problems.

The division we feel... The health care crisis we face -- and have faced before anyone ever heard of COVID-19... The societal inequalities that exist within our communities, whether that be based on race, sex, sexual orientation or economic disadvantages ...

These are not problems born from one presidential term, or one generation.

These are not problems created by the political party that we oppose.

These are our problems.

And these problems will not be solved on Nov. 3, especially if we continue to view them as the problems created by whichever political party we disagree with.

Yes, we want to urge everyone to vote Tuesday.

It's an important step for our country and what comes next.

But if you stop there, if that's the extent of what you have to offer, we'll be having the same conversations four years from now, no matter who wins.

In a recent, rare interview, the outgoing MI6 chief Alex Younger said of the world in general, "We created the things that divide us, and it's in our power to solve them."

That's what we all need to remember here too when we step out of the voting booth Tuesday.