In today’s Rants and Raves column, a contributor voices concern over the temperaments expressed during our recent election.

Many of us likely heard some very caustic verbiage. Perhaps some of it was directed to us personally.

Out country was born out of spirited debate. There’s nothing wrong with that. But when it is peppered with incredibly caustic remarks that bridge on hate speech, such expressions counter the very core of our democracy.

No, there’s no law that prevents such harsh tones. In fact, in most instances it is protected by our beloved First Amendment.

But keep this in mind. At this very moment we have men and women in harm’s way protecting and uplifting our democratic principles. When they vote, they do not all vote the same, yet they fight a common enemy — an enemy that typically is perceived as seeking to destroy our way of life, our democratic republic which provides us with the right to make choices without fear of intimidation.

When the pursuit of those choices breaks down to the level of hate speech it would seem to slander those fundamental values that we claim to hold so dear.

We should consider what separates us from many other nations and their political ideologies, lest we become that which we abhor.