It’s over, America won. We decided as a country that it was more valuable to cast a protest vote than to elect literally the most qualified candidate in history.

There were many reasons that voters chose Trump over Hillary. Between his admittance of sexual assault, his tax dodging, his endorsement from the KKK, his complete lack of experience or policies, and his dogmatic internet personality, there was something for everyone. Some voters just wanted a change of pace. Despite Obama giving us superbly low unemployment rates, the healthiest economy in about twenty years, a reliable health care system, and increased civil rights, the American people decided that they were ready for someone to reverse these actions. Many others decided that they did not like either candidate, but found Trump to be more appealing for some “unknown” reason.

Now we must look to the future. Trump has displayed his ability to incite violence in his followers, attack the “biased” press, and gain support through exploitation of fear and various types of bias, all special moves of some of history’s favorites–such as Hitler, Stalin, and Mao. He has even praised the fortuitousness of their modern day equivalents, Hussein and Putin.

It’s not really a surprise that in an era in which the rest of the world is returning to the worst part of the 20th century that we followed suit. From China finding ways to further increase its censorship, to the United Kingdom choosing economic breakdown and separation from the European Union over immigration and sovereignty, to Russia deciding to model itself after the Soviet Union, the past few years have been interesting for those who desire both liberty and justice. Many thought that the United States was above this kind of behavior, but it turns out that we were just late to the party.

But fear not my fellow patriots, if you still believe we can call ourselves that. We may have lost the battle, but we can still win the war. The Republicans now hold both houses of Congress as well as the presidency, but that does not mean they are all-powerful. Both the left and the right have been activated and you can be sure that every decision made in government will be held under intense scrutiny.

The best thing about democracy is that the power lies in the people, so I encourage anyone discontent with the results of this election to continue fighting for what they believe in and pushing for a better tomorrow. Everyone has the power to make change.