On Nov. 3, we will have elected the oldest person to ever become president of the United States. That is true no matter who wins. With less than two months remaining before this momentous event, it is time to heed the advice of the youngest person to ever become president of the United States.

In his famous “Man in the Arena” speech, President Teddy Roosevelt lambasted those of us who would “face life with a sneer.” He had little use for the constant critic — those who point out “how the strong men stumble.” They were the “cold and tired souls who know neither victory or defeat” because they had never entered the arena.

We critics watch corruption and incompetence — locally and nationally. We witness justice denied. We observe cowardice and bald-faced lies reported daily. We see human dignity trashed and human misery ignored. We pour another cup of coffee and lament the decline of democracy in these, our United States of America.

A bit harsh perhaps, but who among us would deny that pontificating from the kitchen table is vastly easier than actually doing something about that which truly grieves our souls — that which might be addressed by entering “the arena.” The “arena” before us is the Nov. 3 election for president of the United States. We have much to do before then.

We have heard people of otherwise stellar judgment say things like, “I won’t vote for candidate X simply because he/she is for or against my one particular issue — abortion, the environment, Middle East policy, minimum wage, gender/racial equality and more.”

Or, “my vote for president is wasted in Hawaii because the outcome is preordained and because of the Electoral College, the size of one’s national victory is not consequential.”

Or, “I hate candidate X but don’t love candidate Y and will therefore vote for candidate Z on principle” — the Ralph Nader principled vote syndrome in Bush vs. Gore in 2000, which many believe cost Gore the election. Ralph Nader, the father of the modern consumer movement, and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is an attractive defender of civil rights and ran for president four times — but neither he nor anyone who assumes a 2020 version of his mantle is going to be the next president. A “throwaway” vote might feel good for a while, but will do nothing to address our problems.

Conspiracy devotees flood the internet with theories that defy all rational thinking. Our liberal democracy is indeed cracked, our leadership is as weak as it’s ever been, our corruption levels are so high that we now rank in the middle of the pack among all nations on any corruption index. Our standing in the world of nations is at an all-time low.

No candidate is perfect. And there is no shortage of information to guide our voting choices. We simply cannot allow the perfect to be the enemy of the good when exercising our obligation to vote.

We must each vote on Nov. 3. But, let us also work to get others to vote. Let us remind the largest bloc of voters — Generation Z (ages 18-23) plus Millennials (ages 24-39) — that their vote is consequential.

Let us make phone calls, in and out of Hawaii. Work the in-person voting sites, write Letters to the Editor, put up yard signs, demonstrate, send postcards to those in the swing states, cajole our friends and relatives as necessary.

Yes, let us quit opining from the sidelines and enter the “arena” like the survival of American democracy depends upon it. Because it does.

John Webster is a Hawaii university professor and former government affairs executive at IBM and KPMG.