Tons of signs have spread rapidly on your neighbors' lawn, political ads have taken over your favorite programming and candidates are knocking on your door.

We are indeed in the throes of the political season.

For some people, the July 31 primary will bring happiness as their favorite candidate claims victory, while for others, the temporary break from generic political talking points may be a win in itself.

We're not speaking about all politicians, and certainly we expect candidates to have a platform, to focus on key issues and to try to convince us to vote for them.

However, we all know the economy is rough right now. We need more jobs, more businesses, better educational opportunities and many other things, but if you don't have a specific plan, don't feed us line after line about how you're going to make everything better.

Tell the voters you're not sure what you're going to do, but that you're committed to trying to keeping them safe and allowing them the opportunity to provide a little something for their families even if that doesn't include every last facet of the American Dream.

We, the voters, are tired of the political mud-slinging, boldface lies and misleading information from and about our public figures.

However, we also acknowledge that we may be part of the problem.

Many of you are going to vote Tuesday, and we hope that our reporting here at The News has helped you navigate through the crowded field, but at the same time, we hope that voters will always keep the broader perspective in mind.

We should all appreciate what we do have here in America, including the freedom to express our opinions on Facebook, Twitter, online forums and in person. We should find it a privilege that we have the right to vote, but we shouldn't get so caught up in every single political issue.

There will always be problems to solve. Though the economy will eventually get better for some, it will not get better for everyone. Some people may land a newly created job, others will still remain unemployed. A few bright students may learn more than they could ever imagine, but others won't make it out of high school. No candidate has a silver bullet or panacea, and, if we expect them to, we do them and ourselves a disservice. We create situations that will inevitably lead to frustration and draw attention away from areas that can actually be helped.

Take what you've learned to become an informed voter, but take it also to go out there and make a difference in your communities, instead of expected elected officials to carry the weight of the world on their shoulders. Maybe then we can all talk more effectively and realistically about the things we can change.