Sunday, Oct. 14, 2012 | 2:01 a.m.
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With the start of early voting this week, we have the most exciting, powerful and profound opportunity. We get to choose our leaders and we get to do so without fear and truly with pride.
While this tends to be the season to lament the nastiness of campaigns, that breath is wasted. In spite of some technical legal definitions, advertising agencies and campaigns are not people.
It is their express purpose to sell a message that will compel people to take action, in this case to not vote. Forgive them the use of vitriol. It is their job. It is effective.
Individuals cannot be forgiven for repeating it. When individual behavior reinforces messages designed to dampen that precious exercise, we all lose. Happily, the opposite is true, too.
Civil discourse in democracy is necessary, productive and can be enjoyable — really. If we celebrate the next few weeks, we elevate civic engagement, reinforcing pride in it for our children. This can be fun. So let’s be nice.
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