A level-headed plea for rationality in the upcoming Election season.

Please vote but here is a list of things, in no particular order, that I believe are civic duties that are more important than voting. Without an informed and thoughtful populace, democracy is a tyrant.

1. Read. Philosophy, literature, anything that challenges us to think differently about the world. Stability is comforting and in my experience, reading challenging books keeps me from feeling overly ideologically tethered.

2. Avoid watching news. The business model clearly is about playing on our fears. Most people who I talk to who are obnoxiously partisan, watch a good amount of cable news. Not just Fox News either (though nearly every person I have met who watches Fox is a crazy, conspiracy theorist) but liberal news as well. I know it's a chicken or the egg type of problem but allegiance and cable news seem to share the same bed. News should primarily be read.

3. Share your good beliefs with the world. I know this doesn't fit everyone's personality profile but good beliefs need to be normalized. It fosters an atmosphere for us to change our minds. The world needs reminders that people are human beings, particularly in a climate when people are shouting about how many people aren't. It seems to me that most of the beautiful ideas worth sharing come down to acknowledging our shared humanity and value.

4. Hold the political leaders we love accountable. Support is not allegiance. You can be excited about a politician while observing that they have a voting record or certain platform issues that are bad. Looking the other way serves nothing other than that person's power to be shitty. Nothing makes politicians immune to change like unconditional support from fans.

5. Fight loyalty. This is really the theme of everything on this list. Loyalty is what makes liberals much more comfortable with war while Democrats are in power. It makes conservatives upset when people don't salute the flag properly. It makes it nearly impossible for non-Christians to hold public office. I could go on and on. While loyalty benefits institutions it makes individuals weak. It's as petty as booing a legitimate call from a referee during a football game but scaled up to decisions that literally destroy people's lives. It is also who we are, embedded deep in our genetic code. Fighting it can go a long way towards making us better.