Thursday, as I drove into work, I stopped to admire what turned out to be a fantastic sunrise. Thinking to myself how crazy it has been since election night Tuesday, the sunrise reminded me that not everything in the world is full of chaos and turmoil.

It was easy for all of us to get caught up in the clutter of the campaigns. Dirty laundry was being hung out everywhere.

And, while I believe it important for all of us to pay attention to what was taking place, I understood that, at that point, there was nothing I could do to add speed to the process, so I might as well sit back, accept the results as they come forward, and wait patiently, like everyone else.

What became quite clear, however, was that whoever ultimately assumed the presidency will do so under the strangest of circumstances and by the narrowest of margins in most states.

Like it or not, there is no clear mandate. And, from the looks of it, the nation stands pretty divided down the center as to what direction seems the best one. By no means will these next two years — until the next mid-term election — be a “walk in the park” for the winner.

We might not be as bad as the country was in Abraham Lincoln’s day, but there are stark differences of opinion that the election has brought to light. Worse, in my estimation, is the jet fuel that social media adds into the mix that can quickly turn a little spark into a roaring inferno.

Lincoln, in his famous “House Divided” address, worried that slavery could someday soon be just as prevalent in the north and in the U.S. territories as it was in the South. Lincoln, speaking on the last day of the Republican state convention in Illinois, said “a house divided against itself cannot stand.”

While I would not necessarily equate the issue of slavery then to the division in our country today, I do see a divide in political perspectives that, left unchecked, can only grow worse.

We need a return to the government models of old, where a Republican President Ronald Reagan could disagree vehemently over policy with the House Speaker Tip O’Neill, a Democrat, but, at the end of the day, the two could retreat behind closed doors and share together an adult beverage.

I believe that if we hope to move forward, we first must find some common ground on which to stand together.

As we do, we need to recognize the growing disparity between rural America and urban America. The cities are where elections are either won or lost.

As of this writing, Joe Biden was headed toward victory, but it remained too close to say whether he’d actually clinched it. Still, a couple things are clear.

While President Donald Trump focused a great deal of time on rural America, generally speaking, he did not narrow the margins in the cities as much as he needed to, like he did four years ago, to overcome the overwhelmingly Democratic turnout that occurs there.

And, while Joe Biden can thank urban voters for propelling him toward victory, as he looks at the red/blue map of U.S. counties next week, and how those counties voted, he is going to see — just as many presidents before him in past decades — that, geographically, most of the country voted for the other guy. That cannot be overlooked or ignored, either, if he hopes to have success.

The beauty of a county fair is that it brings together rural and urban folks in a fun setting. It is a safe place that everyone enjoys. The next president needs to bridge the gap between the two interests and find a common denominator on which to forge a new beginning of trust and cooperation. This is a big country, and the president needs to represent all the people.

I believe this election really revealed to me the transition of power that is taking place from one generation to another in the country. Most of the Silent Generation has passed on. Baby Boomer numbers also are decreasing because of death.

This election showed me that Gen-Xers have moved into a prominent role of leadership across much of the county, while Millennials and Gen-Zers were not only voting, but they also seemed very passionate about causes and platforms. Unlike previous generations, their allegiance doesn’t seem to be so much geared to a particular candidate, but rather the platform of that candidate.

While very lukewarm toward Biden, for instance, I believe those generations voted more for the platform and causes of the Democratic Party than Biden himself.

One thing I believe we all can agree on from this election is that many people became engaged in the political process and took advantage of their voting privilege. Here in Michigan, 5.5 million voted on Tuesday, the highest percentage in 60 years. And that, in the end, is something we all can be proud of.