Despite the acrimony and a surprise third candidate, the prospect of a contested election for East Hampton Village mayor has already proven to be a good thing, at least for a clash of ideas.

Among the positive impacts of our coronavirus isolation has been what you might call found time: hours and hours each day for the books I intended to read, television programs I wanted to watch, and operas I didn’t want to miss.

Many of us have suffered already from the warlike shock of the COVID-19 pandemic. We will all suffer in some way. If we learn from the record, however, we can take steps to minimize the impact.