We’re sick and tired of the ongoing rancor of the presidential race. And it’s no wonder — the election has become a battleground, and we’ve been bombarded with partisan, divisive and sometimes vicious presidential politics for three years.

According to a 2014 report from CNN, Rand Paul and Rick Santorum and their supporters first began posturing in early 2013 for the presidential race; Ted Cruz, Paul Ryan, Mike Huckabee and Rick Perry followed soon after.

To put that into perspective, 2013 was the same year that Obama began his second term in office. In other words, we pretty much went straight from the conclusion of one election to preparing for the next; we got virtually no break from political posturing or mud-slinging. We also got little or no chance to come together as a nation and work together for the common good of our country.

“Campaigns for president are no longer 12-month campaigns, they are now three- or four-year-long campaigns,” longtime GOP strategist John Brabender, a senior adviser to Santorum, told CNN in April 2014.

This is a continuing and worsening trend, and it needs to stop. By beginning presidential campaigns earlier and earlier, candidates are increasing the polarity, intolerance, aggravation and incivility over national politics — not only among politicians, but amidst the public in general. They are continually fanning the flames of anger, and Donald Trump, in particular, has capitalized on the very anger that he helped create.

One of the consequences of starting presidential campaigns so early is the increasing cost to run for the office. A viable campaign now costs tens — and more often, hundreds — of millions of dollars, and that is due, in part, to the increasing length of presidential campaign runs.

Last fall, former president Jimmy Carter said he would be unable to run for president in today’s political atmosphere as a campaign costs between $200 million and $300 million.

Only someone who is extremely wealthy or well-connected, or both, is able to make a serious run for president these days, and an amazing amount of money is funneled into campaign coffers — much of it coming from special interests.

But the consequences go far beyond Washington, D.C. Apparently, we as citizens take the cue for our behavior from national politicians. Nowadays, it seems we all have opinions that matter more than anyone else’s. Too often, rather than disagreeing with someone’s point of view and politely offering our own thoughts as alternatives, we go immediately into attack mode and aim for the jugular. We insult; we belittle; we label; we bully. Think it doesn’t happen here? Think again.

It’s time for us, the American public, to take back control of the presidential election. We understand that people aspiring for election to the nation’s highest office need time to plan, but they don’t need to start campaigning so early.

According to NPR, the presidential campaign in Britain is limited to six weeks. Canada’s presidential campaign season last year lasted 11 weeks — the longest in that country’s history. In Argentina, advertisements can begin only six weeks before an election.

While those limitations may be considered too strict here, it is not unreasonable to require presidential hopefuls to wait until a year before the next election to announce their campaigns and begin waging their political battles — and many likely would argue for a shorter period of time.

Here in the United States, we are so focused on who will run for president in the next election that our leaders often fail to look for ways they can work together during the current presidential term to solve the pressing problems we face. Instead, it seems, they kick the can down the road while they hope, plan and scheme for the next presidency — and then the pattern repeats itself.

We also believe there should be a reasonable limit on the amount of money that a candidate could spend on a presidential campaign.

We would hope that limiting the time and money spent on presidential campaigns also would help focus candidates’ debates more on the issues and less on politics for politics’ sake.

It is up to us as Americans to make it clear to the people who wish to be our leaders that we expect them to behave as such. We expect them to show strength without bullying; demonstrate courage without attacking; face criticism without insulting; and respond to challenges without belittling.

We can do that in two ways: Elect people who demonstrate that they deserve the office, and then show them the respect we expect of them, regardless of our differences.

Admittedly, some of this seems like pie-in-the-sky thinking. But it’s time for a change, and change has to start somewhere.