To me there is always  an "elephant in the room" when I watch interviews, read news magazines, blog, even after watching the debates. When asked, why are you voting for Hillary/Trump? Supporting their candidate is a very personal one and on the surface, one of mainly self interest. How good is this? Democracy in action. I think so which often doesn't make me proud. 

Recently, my wife and I watched an old Richard Gere movie. Terribly unrealistic but it is the movies. He was a lawyer who gets in trouble in China. His Chinese lawyer is arguing with him. He is trying to talk about the American justice system. She is talking about statistically the problems of America. At one point he says something like, "America has its problems. Democracy is messy and we are sometimes violent but in modern times, we are always trying to be better." Whether he said it or not, good statement, especially in light of the fact that the  movie is 20 years old. 

We are in that very messy period now and frankly many of us have s hard time defending our democracy.