Shortly before the Thanksgiving holiday approaches, the temptation to sentimentalize and reflect on the blessings in our lives increases. That occurrence takes place so regularly that, just as often, opinions that we should consciously extend the reflective nature of Thanksgiving to all the other days of the year — in the form of actual columns in newspapers, Facebook statuses, Twitter tweets and probably every other form of discourse — materialize.

In keeping with that tradition, let me tell you what I am most thankful for this Thanksgiving: I am thankful the campaign season of 2012 is over.

To those of you who read or glance at my columns as a matter of routine, that might come as something of a surprise. Out of more than 100 columns written since I began writing in September 2010, most of them have argued a political point. Similarly, out of 250 editorials written by the Editorial Board since I began my tenure as the opinion editor, by far most of them have advocated a political stance.

My approach to writing opinions in this newspaper is that, in doing so, I contribute to public discourse on current issues. That approach means most of the time my columns in a formulaic, predictable way take a set of facts that either some news agency reported or I discovered, and proceed to comment on that circumstance. It means most of the time, I write about politics. Heck, I can’t even write a column about Thanksgiving without writing about politics.

I can barely remember a time I wasn’t aware of or interested in politics. I remember asking my mother who she was voting for back in 1996. In 2000, when I was in fifth grade and my class had a mock presidential election, I supported Bush. And then, in the aftermath of 9/11 and the 2003 invasion of Iraq, my friends and I were glued to the news and our lunch table became a de facto debate club.

But I truly am grateful for a respite, along with a week-long recess from classes and work, from the total war that is the political campaign season. I find myself sympathetic to and empathetic with 4-year-old Abigael Evans, who memorably cried while her mother listened to NPR: “I’m tired of Bronco Bamma and Mitt Romney.” Politics can be loads of fun, but it quickly morphs into a burden. Participating in politics means dealing with all the individuals faults of other participants. Politicking requires putting up with arrogance and timidity, the overly contemplative and those who fail to look before they leap, push-overs and zealots, and a whole host of other qualities that might be good in moderation but toxic when excessive.

Now that the campaign war is over and we must get down to the business of governing and doing what is best for the country rather than what pleases our constituents, Republicans and Democrats alike can say: “The war is over, the Rebels are our countrymen again,” just as Gen. Ulysses S. Grant did when Gen. Robert E. Lee surrendered to him and ended the Civil War.

“Politics” exists as a word of its own because it has a unique identity. Other concepts, such as “society” and “privacy” stand in opposition to it as unique identities of their own. For politics to exist at all, we must have independent social and private lives. If the latter hijack the former, then politics disappears. Once social and private considerations spill over the bulkheads into the politics compartment, the ship of state begins to sink.

In order for politics, in which we give attention to promoting and advancing the connections between us rather than our individual welfare, to survive, our social and private lives must sustain themselves. Politics should never be sacrificed to the needs or wants of an individual or a combination of individuals. From Aristotle to the present, republican politics has been about the welfare of the connections between us rather than the welfare of us. (Republics, for which Aristotle used “the generic name of polity or constitutional government,” are the best form of government. The other forms — aristocracy, monarchy, democracy, oligarchy and tyranny — are deviations or perversions of it.)

In order to transcend self interest, avoid bribery, corruption and nepotism, and revolve around actual thought, the public world of politics requires the social and private spheres rest on firm, independent foundations.

On a personal level, that means switching off for a while. Although ignoring or avoiding the news and politics would be bad, each of us needs some time to cultivate our own personal tastes and personalities. Both our sanity and our politics require it. A athlete cannot be effective at a game he or she plays constantly and without rest.