This past election was wildly disappointing; more disheartening than any election I remember or have voted in. I admit it’s depressing; I’ve been frozen on the sofa crushing kettle chips and watching the same video of a kitten in a bubble bath for two days. It seems almost surreal that we’re about to swear in the most unqualified person to ever hold the office — misogynistic, bullying, bigoted, narcissistic, self-aggrandizing, and wildly incurious — and that this opportunity to make history has slipped so painfully through our fingers.

But we must harden our resolve. We cannot, and will not, become the kind of xenophobic, isolationist, exclusionary America we believed was receding in our sociocultural rearview mirror. And despite our dire state, we cannot despair. If good-hearted people had given up during slavery, or the suffrage movement, or Jim Crow, or Asian internment, or Stonewall, or the struggle for pay equality, or marriage equality, or the environment, or Black Lives Matter, we wouldn’t be the nation we are today — more equal and inclusive than we have ever been before. Yes, there is still so much more to be done. It’s clear from this election that we’re not yet the America we want to be, the America we are destined to be, and will most surely — despite the resistance of small-minded people— inevitably become. But we’ll never get there without the relentless focus and dedication of all who believe in tolerance, equality, personal freedom, fairness, and the strength of our rich diversity.

Now is not the time to despair. Now is the time to redouble our efforts and look to the future. We will get to the top of that mountain. Together.

In the meantime, feel free to spend a few days watching kitten videos and mainlining Pinot Grigio. I won’t judge. I’m right there on the couch with you. Pass the chips.