1. It’s Tuesday, November 7, 2017.

2. It’s believed to be the 109th anniversary of the demise of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid in Bolivia.

No one seems completely sure. There aren’t bodies that have been identified in all these years.

Today is election day in many states.

3. First, and foremost, VOTE!

There’s a tendency to dismiss this particular election and the one two years from now. It’s usually some local politicians, the people who bother you with leaflets as you’re trying to get home from the supermarket on a Saturday.

You’re not even sure what some of them do.

One of the positions up for election today in my county is surrogate court judge. All he – and everyone running is male – does is rule on people’s wills and what assets an orphaned child has.

And, for many of us, the last election day experience still stings. Somehow, we wound up with a jackass as president.

That sick feeling – that elections lead to bad things – clouds our lives.

For a year, it’s been a living nightmare. The world moves closer to conflagration in Korea and the Middle East. The nation reels from unending gun violence and the impact of global warming. The rich try to rejigger the tax code so that they pay less and those with less pay more.

4. But elections bring bad results if we let them.

If we don’t take part. If we don’t encourage our friends and family to take part.

That’s what happened in 2016. Trump couldn’t possibly win, we thought, so we didn’t take the danger as seriously as we should have. Hillary Clinton was a flawed candidate, so the enthusiasm for her wasn’t universal.

These local elections determine life in the places where we live. How welcoming our communities will be. How willing they are to tackle the problems of the 21st century.

Voting is an act of commission. You are willing to be counted about the things that are important to you – and maybe some that aren’t.

But if you own a home or rent an apartment or live with your parents, what happens in your community – not to mention your city, county or state – means a lot to you.

Turnout for these elections is never great. If one-third of registered voters show up, it’s a big deal.

Be the one-third that counts. Vote. Get your family to vote. Get your friends to vote.

Fight the feeling you had a year ago. If your side loses, get ready to fight again a year from now.

But if your side wins, realize that we’ve taken a step toward getting rid of Trump and saving our country.