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For all the blathering nonsense that cable news networks have dumped on Americans during this brain-atrophying presidential campaign, there are only three words that mattered.

They were uttered Sunday night by CNN host Anderson Cooper, delivered with a look of utter exasperation, the expression most of us carried as we limped toward Election Day and the conclusion of months and months of madness.

Speaking to a representative from Donald Trump's campaign — the issue the representative was lying about is irrelevant — Cooper asked, desperately: "Don't facts matter?"

To this point, on the eve of America finally choosing its next president, I'd say the answer is an apparent, "No." But I'd argue that there is one fact that should truly matter: We are all Americans.

It hasn't seemed that way through much of the campaign, and particularly in these closing months. We have been three Americas: one angry and aggrieved; one optimistic and eager to continue in the direction President Barack Obama has taken the country over the past eight years; and one that is fed up with all this nonsense and wishes it could live somewhere quieter and less slimy.

Every presidential campaign, by its nature, divides the country. But I've never seen the divisions this pronounced or the communication between the divided groups so hopeless.

If someone dared to suggest that Hillary Clinton is an intelligent person who is qualified to be president, those who have made a hobby out of loathing her would pounce with vigor and explain — often in all-caps for emphasis — that she has never accomplished anything and is the embodiment of evil.

If someone dared to suggest that many of Trump's supporters are not, contrary to Clinton's assertion, deplorable — that many are decent people who feel displaced in a changing country and deserve to have their concerns heard — that person was trod upon by Trump opponents who see only the screaming faces at his rallies and assume they represent the sum total of his base.

I was wildly critical of Trump throughout this campaign for what I consider good reason. And people criticized me for what I'm sure they consider good reason.

But we are now at the point where criticism is irrelevant, and we, as Americans, as members of the same team, must find a way to come back together.

If we wake Wednesday morning to the words "President-elect Donald Trump," that will tell us something about where we are as a country. Some will like it, some will be terrified. But all of us will need to accept it and learn from it and, if we don't like it, figure out where we went wrong and what we can do together to, if I may borrow Trump's catchphrase, make America great again.

If we wake Wednesday morning to the words "President-elect Hillary Clinton," that will also tell us something about where we are as a country. Some will like it and some will be terrified, but the outcome needs to be accepted. Those in shock will need to reflect on what went wrong and appreciate the will of the people. And those who are happy will need to look at what drove those in shock and try to better understand and appreciate the issues that divide us.

After this finger-pointing, scandal-churning, issue-devoid mess of a campaign, no one has the right to spike the football. No one should want to, because we're all on the same team.

I know that gets overlooked. I'm as guilty of it as anyone.

But if we let this election end and then — barring unlikely electoral chaos — don't accept the outcome, don't find a way to at least loosely stitch ourselves back together, we'll remain three Americas. Divided, sniping, trolling and, inevitably, eroding all that makes us good.

That doesn't mean we can't disagree or criticize. It doesn't mean we can't stand up for what we believe. It just means that we find a way back to reality and answer Anderson Cooper's "Don't facts matter?" question with a resounding, "Yes."

And the singular fact that matters as we cast our votes, taking part in a process that's most American of all, is this: We are all Americans.

I fear that's something we've forgotten.

It's time to remember.

Rex Huppke is a columnist for the Chicago Tribune and a noted hypocrisy enthusiast. You can email him at rhuppketribune.com or follow him on Twitter at @RexHuppke