To say the least, it has been an interesting election season.

It is even more interesting for people my age, as this will be the first year we get to vote in a general election. Come November, one of these two qualified candidates-- Hillary Clinton (Democrat) and Donald Trump (Republican) will be voted into office (if you can even call them “qualified”).

The preamble to November has been strange enough – from riots in the streets to accusations of racism and criminal activity, from in-party conspiracies of favoritism to feuds with crying babies, from leaked emails to withheld tax returns.

Civility between presidential hopefuls – both across and within party lines – has reached an all-time low. And the trickle-down effects of this have been startling as we head – for better or for worse – into one of the most historic elections of our lifetimes.

But what of the American people?

I can’t help but notice some of the percolating trends that have cropped up on both sides of the fence in terms of voters. There seems to be a large majority of voters who, regardless of their preferred candidate’s wrongdoings, will continue to blindly defend until the point of violence. These people are arguably the most visible, and certainly the most disturbing.

From my point of view, America hasn’t seen such violence in an election year since 1968.

Then we have an even bigger silent majority, who are begrudgingly tasked with choosing between which candidate they feel will be the lesser of two evils. I’d like to think that most of us fall into this category, where we can at least recognize our preferred candidate is not a saint sent to fix all our problems.

So what will all of this lead up to in November?

Certainly, both candidates will have to prove themselves to the general public. Each side has done a terrific job of demonizing the other.

As it stands today, there will be a large portion of people who will be dissatisfied when Trump or Clinton takes office.

And with both of the candidates caked in alleged scandals, lies and inconsistencies, they are going to have to work extra hard to prove themselves.

It’s a recipe ripe for deadlock amongst the reds and blues.

Regardless of who you are voting for, let me offer a takeaway: be kind to others.

Sure, you are going to encounter people who feel the need to go out of their way to express their opinions rather obnoxiously, perhaps even violently.

You have certainly seen this firsthand – on the news, if not in real life.

But people, at their core, are still people.

It is easy to get caught up in the political fervor and treat people less than human.

Both these candidates are very flawed – but that doesn’t mean their supporters are.

I, for one, have friends on both sides of the debate. Do I disagree with some of them? Yes. But do I hate them? No, it’s their choice.

Unless someone is looking to be persuaded, you’ll be hard pressed to change their minds.

Chris Dryfoos

Lehigh Valley Press intern