This article is brought to you by our exclusive subscriber partnership with our sister title USA Today, and has been written by our American colleagues. It does not necessarily reflect the view of The Herald.
MPs return to Parliament again this week for a short session before the party conferences.
My summer break has been spent meeting people in towns and villages across the South Cotswolds.
Many residents told me they had never known their MP hold these kinds of meetings before.
Listening directly to people is the most important part of this job, and it shapes everything I say and do when I return to Westminster.
Over the summer, the national headlines on both sides of the Atlantic have been dominated by immigration.
Donald Trump's decision to block visas for Palestinian Authority leaders to attend the UN General Assembly was disgraceful.
For a man so obsessed with a Nobel Peace Prize, his actions - or lack of them - tell another story.
His allies are making matters worse: Netanyahu has moved forces into Gaza, and Putin continues his missile strikes against Ukrainian civilians.
Trump could step in to stop both conflicts, but he chooses not to.
Instead, he prefers to boast that he has already ended ten wars - a number that seems to grow every time he makes the claim.
Here in the UK, we have Nigel Farage.
He may already earn more from outside interests than any other MP, but he still seems more interested in chasing speaking fees in America than in turning up to Parliament.
It's an unusual definition of public service, unless of course the public in question lives in Washington rather than Clacton.
Worse still, he is suggesting we pay £200 million to the Taliban to return desperate refugees - including children - to their brutal regime, while also ripping up the European Convention on Human Rights.
Closer to home, many of the conversations I've had this summer have touched on immigration too.
Polls show many people vastly overestimate the numbers.
We should also remember that the sharp increases came after Brexit, a decision many now regret for its damage to our economy and businesses, in which Farage played a leading role.
Far from 'taking back control', non-European immigration rose sharply, while Brexit stripped us of the automatic right to return illegal arrivals to EU countries.
The Conservative Government compounded the problem by spending vast sums housing asylum seekers in hotels, while banning them from working to pay their own way.
Other countries allow people to contribute while their claims are processed.
Here, the government prefers to waste taxpayers' money and then act surprised when the bills mount up.
August is usually called the 'silly season' in politics.
But this summer has shown how dangerous silly ideas can become when fuelled by hatred and fear.
My role, in Westminster and in the South Cotswolds, is to keep listening, keep challenging, and keep working for fairness, compassion, and common sense.