I can assure you that the sun will not set on the Stars and Stripes

For months on end, half of this country was pitted against the other in a presidential campaign the nastiness of which surpassed all others in recent memory.  

For the better part of a year, two political machines unearthed every available grain of dirt on their respective opponents, unleashing a torrent of unrelenting negativity on an already fearful populace.  

{mosads}Messages from political operatives dominated the airwaves, repeatedly driving home the message to their supporters that if the other side won, that a proverbial end of days would surely follow.

November 8th, 2016, provided all Americans the opportunity to witness a political upset the magnitude of which is unmatched in the modern era of American history.  On Tuesday night, many Americans went to bed with knots in their stomachs, undoubtedly awakening on Wednesday morning believing they were trapped in a nightmare.  Equally as many Americans awoke that very same morning feeling a tremendous sense of hope.

The results of the election are undoubtedly not what half of our nation wanted to see.  Many still sit in disbelief, perhaps even horror or anger, while others rejoice. The seminal lesson this grueling election cycle should have taught us — and what we must take the utmost care to remember, is that as Americans, we share a common destiny, and what unites us is stronger than what separates us. We’re all in this together.  

In the end, it matters not whether we voted red or blue, what matters is how we treat one another from this day forward.  The past two decades of increasing political polarization have all too poignantly highlighted both our most critical failing and our most desperate need.  We’ve spent far too much time distancing ourselves from one another, making it virtually impossible to even find the aisle that we all must reach across.  

We now, more than ever, have a collective duty to return to the center, to focus on service to one another and the cooperative nature that has made the United States the greatest nation on Earth.  Now is not the time to retreat from our neighbors in disgust, but rather, march toward the horizon of a new day in unity, ready to meet the challenges that lie ahead with our unique brand of resolve.

Throughout our history, we’ve refined the art of overcoming adversity. We’ve endured countless societal hardships, each time emerging stronger than we were before.

We’ve survived a Civil War, Reconstruction, the Great Depression, a global struggle against tyranny, and occupation by a foreign army.  The American experience is marked by the relentless pursuit of what is right and just.  It’s who and what we are, it’s our common bond as a people, and that will not change.

In this tumultuous time, many have already begun to pen what they perceive as the final calamitous chapter in America’s story.  

The “American Dream”, our very way of life, is not in danger of collapsing.