When the founders of these United States sat down to craft a document that would be the foundation of the new nation’s government, they agreed to outline certain basic guarantees to its citizens.

And right at the top of the Bill of Rights was the promise that the government would not prohibit certain activities they believed were the inviolable privileges any person should be permitted to pursue.

Those activities include your right to speak your mind. To worship as your conscience dictates and to peacefully protest the actions of your government. And our right to call out public officials who might not be serving you as you should be served.

But in 2025, many fear a pervasive assault on the First Amendment is underway. And that’s not limited to violent reactions to political activists or to pressuring networks to censor talk show hosts.

The actions at a recent Purcellville Town Council meeting, when speakers were interrupted during a public comment period when they began criticizing actions by the council, show that even local officials are not averse to attempting to curb comments they don’t like.

Yet the free speech issue is only a symptom, or at least only a part, of a broader and much more sinister problem — and that is one “side” attempting, and too often succeeding, to force its will on everybody else.

There’s a “do as I say, not as I do” problem when candidates vow transparency but then make major decisions behind closed doors, or when they vow to cut budgets but then make questionable expenditures.

Or when they rail about “hate speech” when their own words have encouraged acts of violence.

But even this rampant hypocrisy is not the worst of it. The deep divisions that are crippling our society right now show that too many leaders — and too many voters — have forgotten what the founders envisioned.

They set up a government they hoped would encourage the free flow of ideas and spirited debate, with the goal being that those chosen to lead would come to a consensus about measures that would be in the best interest of the people they represent.

But these days, from Washington to Richmond to Purcellville, it can seem the only consensus that matters is the one in their particular party or voting bloc.

That’s not the way it’s supposed to work in the United States. No one side was to be able to consistently force its will on another. That’s why our government was formed as a democratic republic, with elected leaders and a division of powers, so that neither the executive nor the courts nor the legislature would own the others.

It seems we’ve lost the plot.

But it doesn’t have to be that way. And the change begins with you.

Early voting in Virginia’s gubernatorial election is now underway. And in the current political climate, the importance of casting votes cannot be overestimated.

Voting is not only an American privilege, it is an obligation for every eligible, responsible citizen.

But there’s another obligation implicit in that, which is to consider more than a candidate’s party or politics. We have an obligation to consider a candidate’s character and motivations as well.

So do your homework. Because it’s not enough for a candidate to just be a Democrat or a Republican.

And it’s certainly not enough to throw aspersions at the other side or to simply list grievances.

Ask questions. Learn how they plan to use that office to help your community. Let your candidates know you’re interested in solutions, not retribution. Find out how they’re going to deal with real issues, regardless of what the party might endorse.

Remind them that whatever party controls the statehouse, and whatever ideals guide the most members of the School Board, once they’re in office, they don’t represent only “their” side. They represent all of us.

The true measure of a leader is not simply mastering the other side. The true measure is building a consensus for the greater good.

— Loudoun Times-Mirror