I know, I know. Most of us are tired of scrolling down Facebook newsfeeds and seeing nothing but political memes and videos attacking or promoting the candidates. Tired of watching people unfriend each other because they couldn’t handle a difference in perspectives. Exhausted from constant news coverage of an election where neither candidate seemed to embody what the country wanted. Especially during this crazy election cycle, the internet has been a platform for everyone’s opinions, abuzz with commentaries, insights and calls to political action from both sides of party lines.

Even now, our nation is incredibly divided– the popular vote for the presidency was very close and President-elect Trump’s victory has catalyzed riots across the country. With all of the anger, hurt and fear brewing in the country right now after a frustrating and exhausting election cycle, you might find yourself glad politics won’t be as much of a dinner table subject for the next four years. But this may not be for the best in the long run.

The tragedy of this year’s cycle goes far beyond who won the primaries or which party won Congress or the presidency. The biggest danger to the country going forward is the apathy and ignorance of the American people. Think back to the last election in 2012. Then think about how dedicated people were during that year to forming opinions on political issues- immigration, gay marriage, gun control, and the like. Then move forward a year, after President Obama beat out Mitt Romney, and where’d the discussion go? It vanished.

People went back to living their lives, ignoring politics and moving on from Gangnam Style. Four years pass, and what happens? Nine percent of the country chooses two of the most-disliked presidential nominees ever that one hundred percent of us have to deal with. Seriously. No one liked these guys.

Now one of them won and we have to deal with it.

So why the sighs of relief? Why are we so glad to be rid of the societal obligation to care about our country? What makes our apathy so fashionable?

This country needs to stop treating politics and caring about national issues like it’s a sport. Pretending like it’s okay to quit paying attention after the “season” is over. Like not rooting for a team in the Super Bowl is morally equivalent to not caring who runs your country. After November, you may stop thinking about the issues, but they won’t stop affecting you.

So let’s not relegate discourse and dialogue about things that matter to a four-year cycle.