This has been an extremely divisive year. Just because voting is over that does not mean our job as Americans ceases. Here are a few things to consider:

First, I have deleted all of my pre-election political posts from my Facebook account. It is history. There is no rule that what you have posted has to be there for all time. And it is time to move forward. You don’t have to go to this extent, but I can tell you it felt really good to do it.

I am also removing the bumper stickers from my car that support the candidate I voted for. I call on people to do the same and to remove all political signs, flags, banners from the view of the public. The only flag we should honor is the American flag.

Political signage is designed to exist prior to an election to impress upon people how strongly you feel the election should go. It has served its purpose. It is temporary, and as I said, the vote is over.

To leave political signage up now is to continue the divisiveness. To keep it up to gloat if your candidate wins is in bad taste. And so is leaving it up as a protest if your candidate loses.

We will never come back together if we continue this tribal mentality inside our own borders.

Second, I believe it is time we all re-examine where we get our news. Facebook is perhaps one of the worst.

Facebook is designed to keep us on as long as possible. The easiest way for Facebook to do that is to give you more of what you want. Seems simple, however, over time your perspective becomes narrower and narrower as alternate views are not experienced.

When you add the Foxes and MSNBCs to the mix, this polarizes us further. The end results? We as a nation end up living in two alternate realities where we just know we are 100% right and people who think otherwise are 100% wrong.

How many things in life are truly 100%? So, we need to do a little off-roading to find the facts on key issues directly from the source. Many of us mistake commentary for a news story about facts. Like Facebook, our cable news channels only win when we watch them a lot. And the best way to do that is to spin crazy stuff that gets us riled up.

Let’s leave the commentary to our own conscience and look at facts and try to see something from both sides before we react. You might surprise yourself and realize that you are more than just a Democrat or a Republican. Ask yourself how you would feel in someone’s shoes and determine if there is a fair middle ground.

We have gone too far with this blood-sport of politics. Rather than an us-versus-them attitude, let’s think about community and country. America is a team. We must stop thinking of it as a league with separate divisions – out to beat each other at all costs.

Despite what some may say, it is totally legal to count votes after the polls close. So, don’t let anyone tell you it is un-American. I was a poll worker in Franklin on Tuesday. I worked alongside many whom I knew did not agree with my views. But we all obviously love our country. We all worked together to ensure the people’s voices were heard.

As the days move forward, ask yourself why someone in America doesn’t want your vote to count? What part of being a legal-aged American voter is wrong?

If someone is afraid of the process, it is probably because they know their views run against the freedom we cherish. Nobody likes overreaching government or paying a lot of taxes. But we won’t get by on anarchy. We need to work together. If you only built a road on your land it won’t go anywhere.

So, let’s look at issues and ask ourselves what is in the long-term interest of our communities and what great things can we accomplish together.

I might disagree with you sometimes, but I’m not going to hate you for it. We are on the same team after all.

(Bill Yacopucci lives in Franklin.)