If third party neutrals  should refrain, then I have crossed the line.  If I were to be asked to mediate a dispute between candidates or specific issues involved in the election, I would refrain from discussing those candidates or those issues.  And it may be that we want to play the role of neutral convener in a public discussion of the election--and so again in that situation I would refrain from public comments if that were a condition of my playing that role.  But we also bring tot he table important analytic tools and communication that we should not be afraid to use in looking at this election and we have many potential roles to play besides that of a neutral (e.g, advisor, organizer, coach).

I think (as I stated in my Can We Talk post to Staying With Conflict 2016) that a major problem we face is that there is not enough communication among people who disagree with each other about this election or about social and political issues more generally. It seems to me that we can each play an important role in overcoming this  by using our skills to talk to others with different perspectives--to hear them, acknowledge their views and present our in ways that are both strong but respectful.  We can't do this if we aren't willing to say what we think.                         

Finally, we are citizens.  This is a critical and in my view scary election.  Somethings are more important than our staying above the fray to maintain our neutral front to the world..