I don’t dread Election Day, I welcome it. Time to begin moving forward.

Yesterday, Maria and I put up an American Flag, the first flag either of us has ever flown.

I’ve never really needed to show my love of country on my sleeve, as the grandson of immigrants, I carry it in my heart.

But we needed to fly this flag, especially today.

My grandmother, an immigrant from the old Russia, always said America was her Promised Land. Me too.

Yesterday, Maria made another flag – we talked all day about what it should say. We agreed on “All One.”

We didn’t put up our flags to divide us, or to exclude anyone, or to argue with anyone, or to elect anyone, or to give anyone the finger.

We put up our flag as a celebration of the New America, where we hopefully begin the long and painful journey of becoming one again.

The flag is not a statement for blue or red, liberal or conservative, left or right, or any of the many labels we put on ourselves or others.

The flag is about all being one, coming together on what unites us, not what divides us.

We all want to be free, we all want to be safe, we all want our families and children to have good and meaningful lives.

The flag is not about suspicion, paranoia, conspiracy, or hatred. One at a time. If anything, our flags fly on behalf of the idea that we must care for one another, no matter how we might differ.

We won’t drive around with our flags tacked into our cars.

We plant them in good faith to fly right above our home and send a signal to the world.  We are all human beings, we are born, live, and die.

We all share a common destiny. That’s what the flags will remind us, here where we live. We hope they touch some other people in a similar way.

We are weary of division and argument. It accomplishes nothing and does not make our world a better place.

All One.