With the general election just 11 days away, emotions in the trenches are running high and issues such as Proposition 4 (parent notification for abortion) and Proposition 8 (same-sex marriage) have inflamed the public.

And while good-spirited disagreement is what democracy is all about, some zealots are taking matters to the extreme by stealing campaign signs from private property and pulling other shenanigans that have left a bad taste with voters on both sides of the fence.

The candidates and advocacy groups who've been harmed are crying foul and we're left to wonder why these kind of acts continue to take place in a civilized society.

Sign thievery is a common occurrence during campaign season, but that's no excuse to continue the practice. We had hoped voters wouldn't resort to lawlessness in order to give their side an edge. Now those hopes have been dashed.

How would you feel if somebody infringed on your right to express an opinion? Frustrated, to be sure.

It's not the first time partisan vandals have struck our local communities.

Races for city council, water district and state Assembly have been marred more than once by dirty deeds, and some culprits who do the stealing and vandalizing have even been caught on videotape.

Denial is always their first line of defense.

Campaign dirty tricks on the national level are a whole other story. We're in the midst of a political struggle that seems to know few boundaries.

As Winston Churchill once said, "Democracy is the worst form of government there is. But it's the best one we've come up with so far."

Our system works, but it does have its flaws.

It's okay to disagree, even strongly, with someone else's viewpoint—but to try to censor it is flat-out wrong and against everything this country was founded upon.

For many of us, Nov. 4 can't come soon enough.