How did a man who has publicly mocked and intimidated people of color, people with disabilities, women, muslims and the LGBT community, not to mention, has been publicly endorsed by the KKK and publicly denounced by many of his fellow party members clinch the presidency? How did he even get close?

Last night’s election was shocking to nearly everyone, including the political experts.

No polls until the ones that really mattered predicted a Trump victory, and yet in the most divisive and historical election our country has ever seen, a brazen billionaire with no political background somehow garnered 279 electoral votes.

According to CNN exit polls, Trump’s victory was due mainly to white voters between the ages of 45 and 64, otherwise known as the “silent majority”. This was the demographic of people that Nixon appealed to during his candidacy and was arguably the reason he won as well. There is a lot to be said about this demographic, they are the middle-class, hard-working families who strive for and many say would embody the American dream. But they are not America.

America is made up of millions of individuals who aren’t middle class, aren’t religious, aren’t white. It is for this that the Nation has fought, the right to be diverse, the right to any religion that one would choose, to be a melting pot of cultures and a place of refuge for the “huddled masses”.

And yet, for some reason, it is these people who align most with the very essence of America that are continually marginalized and oppressed in American society.

Ultimately, this election was won by a group of people who, intentionally discriminatory or not, used their vote to care more about themselves and people like them than America as a whole. Trump said himself in his acceptance speech, “ours was not a campaign but rather an incredible and great movement, made up of millions of hard-working men and women who love their country and want a better, brighter future for themselves and for their famil[ies].”

On the surface, this is a nice statement. What father or mother wouldn’t work tirelessly to provide a better future for their children? But what’s lurking beneath the surface is the fact that of the people surveyed by CNN exit polls, 70% of them were white, and of that 70%, 58% voted for Trump. There is no denying that the bulk of Trump’s constituency is made up of people who since the early days of our country have been given privilege in this society. And unfortunately, there has formed an in-group of privileged individuals made blind to problems which exist outside of their racial and socio-economic circle. When this is amplified by fear-mongering and demonizing of ‘the other’, this privileged in-group panics and clamors for control.

This election was the first big failure of a rebellion against the silent majority that has been gaining speed over the past few years. A rebellion which is a protest of the biases inherent to the system and in favor of understanding and equality for all Americans.

However, the idea that “when you’re accustomed to privilege, equality feels like oppression” rings a little too true in terms of this election.

Many of the silent majority voted out of fear that they would lose their privileged place in society and so voted for a candidate who promised to protect it.

So what now? It hasn’t yet been 24 hours since the announcement of Trump’s victory and there are already reports from across the nation of violent or threatening acts against people of color, women, and the LGBT community. All sorts of what had previously been thinly veiled racism, misogyny and xenophobia will now be on full display all across the country. It is entirely possible that America could see a regression to the mid-century social climate that people like Martin Luther King Jr. fought to change.

This is a fearful time for millions of people who call this country home and it is so easy to want to run away.

But what is still great about America is that we do indeed have rights that are not dependent on race, sexual orientation, or religion.

The rights to freedom of speech, assembly, protest, press and media have and always will make America great.

These are the tools we can use to bring about change in our society, not change in policy that protects the strong, but changes in hearts and minds that will bring up a more understanding future generation.

This election was and is so much bigger than these next four years. America is at a crossroads, the economy and markets will always be cyclical, there will always be good times and bad in terms of finance. What is not cyclical is the way we treat each other. It will take intention in the way we raise our children, the way we hire our employees, and the way we treat our local and international neighbors to set the groundwork for a more caring society.

Will it ever be perfect? No. A utopian society cannot exist in this wild, messed-up world, there will always be hurt and disagreement and misunderstanding.

But it can be better. America can be free, and in that, there is already greatness.

So, to the afraid, to the disheartened, don’t lose hope. There is still a fight to be had, this is your home too, stay and fight for it. You have people by your side.

To the privileged, use your resources and your voice to champion the downtrodden, this is now your civic duty.

And to those who supported Trump. (if you’re still even reading this)

It may not seem like it, but I know that there were a myriad of reasons one could have voted for Trump. And I know that not everyone who voted for him is outwardly racist or misogynistic, but casting that vote sent a message to the targets of Trump’s hatred that you cared more about economic strategies and your own place in society than their right to feel safe in the country they call home.

Perhaps you were morally caught between a rock and a hard place and you feel you did your best, given the circumstances. That’s fine, you have the freedom to choose for whom you vote. But if that is the case, then take a look around and decide if you want to live in a divided nation where both sides are governed by fear.

If the answer is no, then you know what to do, if the answer is yes… then you are the reason there is so much to be done.

Finally, to everyone, the time for passivity is over. The only road to national reconciliation is long and arduous, but there is a road. Stay on it and fight the good fight, as one nation, indivisible, working towards liberty and justice for all.