One of my favorite memories of my dad and Steve involves the two of them arguing with each other, voices gradually getting louder, not with anger, but with the energy of what they believe in.

I was in the kitchen, pulling dinner together. I had no idea what the topic was, they seldom saw eye to eye on anything religious or political, but it was something that engaged them for the entire time it took me to meal prep and cook.

As I called to the household to say that dinner was ready, the two of them emerged from the TV room where they’d been sitting, laughing together.

I remember my dad ending the conversation by saying something along the lines of Steve being so “wrong, just wrong, wrong, and all sorts of wrong,” and then saying something else along the lines of, “but you clearly have your reasons.” Steve immediately shot back something along the lines of my dad being the one who was wrong, but he’d be willing to wait and see how things turned out. Later, when it was just my dad and me, Dad was still shaking his head.

Dad said something else along the lines of not being able to respect whatever it was that Steve was arguing for, but he respected him for defending himself, and he respected his right to believe what he believed. “Even if it was wrong.”

Steve, a Catholic Republican, and my dad, an agnostic Democrat, were frequently at odds. On one occasion, Steve’s company was considering a union vote. Steve, as management, was against the Union. My dad had been a union man all his life. You can imagine how those arguments went.

Much to my dad’s dismay, the union vote did not pass, but if it had, I know who the first person Steve would have gone to for advice on working with a union shop would have been.

I was reminded of these spirited discussions last week. A’s school hosted a pre-midterm debate between two groups on campus. Although A didn’t participate, he was eager to attend.

About fifteen minutes in, I received a disgusted text from him. “They’re just trading talking points,” he said, “no one is actually taking a stand or defending what they’re saying.”

Later, he expressed regret that he hadn’t made the time to participate, feeling that he would have brought more to the table. Then, he immediately followed it up with the realization that he probably wouldn’t have been allowed to get more than a few words in, let alone a coherent dialogue.

Whether it’s the 24/7 news channel that looks for the next sound bite, or the short attention span that social media caters to, nuanced, well-thought-out, and thorough arguments appear to be a thing of the past.

As a family, we always made time to sit and watch the presidential debates. We tried to encourage our own discussions about the topics that were on the television.

However, we also tried to continue the tradition passed down from my dad of being able to explain and defend what your beliefs are. These days, I’m happy to report that all three of my kids aren’t satisfied with dog whistles or catchy slogans, and when a campaign or politician makes a sweeping statement, they know how to sniff out the propaganda.

I wonder if we will ever be able to get back to respectful disagreement, or intelligent discourse about the state of our union. I also wonder if 2016 would have pushed their relationship to its limits, goodness knows Steve and I had enough of our own arguments about it.

I miss being in the presence of two people who couldn’t be more different but still found a way to have a beautiful relationship and set an example for those around them, and I miss being able to happily argue around our dinner table every night. Being surrounded with people who challenge you to dive into your beliefs and understand and explain them is a real gift.

There is still time to educate yourself about who you can vote for on Tuesday. It’s not hard to find solid information about just about every candidate online. Even better, many candidates are spending a lot of time working the campaign trail, make the time to get out and meet them in person. Regardless of what boxes you’ll be checking, get out and vote on Tuesday. I think that’s something we can all agree on.

Liz Pinkey’s column appears on Saturdays in the Times News