As I sit down to write this month’s Embrace the Suck, political Silly Season hath begun in earnest.

My people, 2016 is gonna be one of those elections we tell our kids and grandkids about, and probably not for the right reasons. We’ve had multiple email scandals! The possibility of Russian involvement! Secret Service subtweets! And this was all pre-October surprise.

[Bart Scott voice:] CAN’T. WAIT.

In the midst of all this madness, the Republican nominee, one Donald John Trump (perhaps you’ve heard of him?) got into an ugly back-and-forth with a Gold Star U.S. Army family, Khizr and Ghazala Khan. The Khans lost their son, Captain Humayun Khan, to a car bomb in Iraq in 2004. Immigrants to America from Pakistan, the Khans made national news at the Democratic National Convention when Khizr gave a speech, with his wife at his side, that criticized Trump’s worldview and a number of his proposed policies. Trump responded (as Trump is wont to do) by alleging that the Clinton campaign had written Khan’s speech, and wondering why Ghazala hadn’t spoken. The Khans pushed back, and a legitimate political brouhaha broke out between the Republican presidential nominee and two parents of a fallen American soldier.

To be open and frank, I think Trump is clown shoes and can’t understand why any thinking citizen would ever consider voting for him. Nuclear codes for the guy who gets into Twitter beefs with egg avatars? GREAT IDEA. That said, I realize that many of my fellow citizens disagree with me on that, including a portion of the veteran population. Even my Trump-supporting friends, however, thought he went too far by engaging with the Khans. Honorable military service is — well, was — one of the few remaining sacred cows left in American politics. It’s not partisan to say that we all lose when something like this breaks out in the lead-up to a national election.

Which is one reason of many I was so stoked to see the bipartisan letter written by prominent veterans leaders sent to Trump (and published in The Washington Post). “We are writing as a matter of honor and not as a matter of politics” was the group’s declaration, before admonishing Trump for disparaging the Khans and comparing some of his business successes to military service. The signatories of the letter do indeed run the political gamut — from Congressman Seth Moulton to Medal of Honor recipient Dakota Meyer to Pat Tillman Foundation president and Gold Star widow Marie Tillman to Team Rubicon founder Jake Wood. Those are just four names of forty, and I highly recommend anyone interested in the letter find it online. It’s affirming to read such clear directness, refreshing in this season of polemical hysteria, and inspiring in its ability to rise above the political fray and still deliver a powerful message.

“Honorable military service is-well, was-one of the few remaining sacred cows left in American politics.”

I’ve written here before about the professional veteran, the politicized veteran, and how these things may not be the healthiest for the American republic in the era of the all-volunteer force. Full transparency, I more had the young guns in mind with those representations, not old-dog generals. And yet! It’s the old-dog generals who are getting into it…

First, retired generals John Allen and Michael Flynn gave fiery, impassioned speeches at the Democratic and Republican conventions, respectively. Then retired general Martin Dempsey (former head of the Joint Chiefs) wrote an op-ed reproving such speechmaking by retired flag officers. That, in turn, led to response op-eds by other flag officers, such as retired admiral Eric Olson (whose middle name is Thor, definitely worth mentioning), who made the case that they knew where Dempsey was coming from but felt he was overstating his case. After all, generals Washington, Grant, and Eisenhower (among many others) went on to successful political careers post-military. Wasn’t this just part of a tried and true American tradition?

Such smack-talk! Such fracas! Remain morally sound and temperate, gentlemen, you have grandchildren to consider!

In their own way, the retired generals and admirals are grappling over the same ideas and questions the veteran, foreign affairs, and engaged civilian communities have been for the past fifteen years — even longer, probably. Where does public service end and private citizenship begin? How does a veteran of any rank swear an oath to serve the republic no matter what and then reconcile their own personal views and beliefs after the fact, and later, after their service? How does the enduring nature of the Forever War impact and shape the nature of that oath, and those personal views and beliefs?

These generals and admirals are men and women who devoted their entire lives to the armed services. Not only do they have a right to give voice to their minds post-retirement, one could make a strong case that they have an obligation to — that such is a natural extension of their previous service to nation. That said, Dempsey played a necessary and vital role in all this — pushing back against the vitriol and rhetoric needed to happen, and could only happen with one of their own. This election is bonkers enough already. The last thing we need is a Generals Battle Royale in the Arena. (Though if that does end up happening, rest assured I’ll be appealing to the Penthouse overlords for media credentials for said event.)

Election Day can’t come quickly enough. Whatever happens then — whether it’s Clinton or Trump or Gary Johnson or Jill Stein — will be up to all of us. We’re going to need to put all the unleashed Crazy back into the box and lock it away. Here’s hoping that the unleashed Crazy can be put back into the box and locked away. Because if not, a lot worse things than media squabbles involving presidential nominees, Gold Star families, and ex-generals await.

PHOTOS: Getty Images / The Washington Post / Mark Wilson