Tomorrow, the U.S.A. will celebrate its 248th birthday—born out of the foundational belief that all men are created equal and are endowed by our Creator with certain unalienable rights, among those being life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

Though we’re still in our infancy—or at least our adolescence—as compared to many of our sister nations around the globe, we are the longest continuous running democracy in the world—complete with our challenges and imperfections.

As a part of that pursuit we engage in the task every four years of electing a new president—a process that has become more tumultuous and contentious with the passing of time—as evidenced by the events of this past week.

This is not a political blog, so i will not delve into the issues, the platforms, or even the ages of the presumptive nominees for the current election. However, i will speak to the foundational process that i believe should drive the candidates and each one of us who is charged with the responsibility of casting a vote to determine who the next president of our nation should be.

And that foundational process is not only true as it relates to our role in our system of governance; it is true in every aspect of our lives, no matter our nation of citizenship, party of political preference, or generational worldview.