Over the past few weeks and ending Tuesday, Americans will have spoken by either voting or not.

While it would be unfathomable for my family and me to have opted out of voting in the 2020 presidential general election with all that is at stake for the present and for generations to come, I know that regrettably many people decided  to self-disenfranchise. Too many people with much to say about this year's hot topics, including the importance of wearing masks to retard the spread of COVID-19, the hardship endured by business, government and school closures during the pandemic, and the timing of the nomination of Judge Amy Coney Barrett to succeed the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg, convinced themselves to disengage from the political process and stay at home. Our airwaves, social media, cellphones, landlines and day-to-day existence have been invaded with appeals by and on behalf of candidates seeking the highest elected office in the U.S. all the way down to state and local positions, all of which will influence the public policy determining how financial resources should be allocated for the public good.