Took a trip to Montreal over the weekend, and it never ceases to amaze me the degree to which the Quebecois stick to their heritage and their language even as they are surrounded by oblivious Anglos.

I speak a bit of French, though not as much as I should. Of the 500 or so words our waitress said to us at dinner, I understood perhaps 25. We were managing fine, though, right up until she unleashed a string of words that apparently had something to do with the computer not working, the bill not printing and the credit-card machine not working. We had to resort to a mix of her limited English and my limited French to figure that one out, but we did it.

Where I’m going with this is that it’s an impressive feat the Quebecois have pulled off, standing up to their surroundings to keep their culture. I’m glad they did.

Vermont will have to make the same kind goal-line stand if it wants to fend off the kind of vicious political campaigns going on elsewhere. The race between Martha Rainville and Peter Welch has proven it’s possible. The temptation will be for whichever one of them loses tomorrow to wonder whether maybe they could have swung a little harder, let some people say some nastier things on their behalf. Don’t fall for it.

This is the sort of campaign that makes the ordinary voter say, "Hey, maybe there is a good reason for me to vote."

I had a taste of the other kind of campaign while visiting my in-laws in upstate New York a week ago. The TV ads were so mean-spirited, they left me thinking both candidates should be indicted and jailed immediately. It is not hard to picture hordes of voters finding something better to do Tuesday than voting for either one of them. Dental work comes to mind as more pleasant.

We haven’t fallen into that abyss yet, but once we do, it won’t be easy to climb out. Better to avoid the danger signs and walk the other way. Better to speak our own language, no matter the pressure to do otherwise.

- Terri Hallenbeck