As we mop up after the passage of Hurricane Sandy, then do our best to give the little ones some semblance of normalcy as they look to celebrate Halloween, we are triply tasked with searching our souls for the right answers to questions posed at the ballot box next week.

For some of us the choices are blessedly clear, while others may have difficulty culling the wheat from the chaff amidst all of the conflicting messages put forward on each side of almost every issue. Politics as usual, really.

From the national race for the leadership of our country right on down to the regional ballot measures that touch our everyday lives right here at home, it is an important election day. Every eligible voter should consider it his or her duty to get out to the polls and do the thing that makes life in this land such a precious gift: help to decide the course that we are to follow in the immediate future, and play their parts in writing the historical record for what is to follow.

We should feel grateful that Sandy didn’t come calling next week, wreaking her havoc on this important day. Every single vote does count, be assured of that. So, don’t let a little rain or chilly weather stop you. From the troops at Valley Forge straight through to our humble present-day letter carriers, service to one’s country should not be hindered or halted due to a bit of inconvenient inclement weather. Or almost anything else, actually. Let it be so for us as well. We are no less important.