For a brief moment, Americans can exhale.  

Despite expectations that this election would drag on for days, the outcome was clear and decisive; if you stayed up late enough, you knew the president-elect. 

The Vice President’s words before the crowd at Howard University, less than 24 hours after the last polls closed, were a gift — a gift of closure. After calling President Trump to congratulate him (though nowhere in the law does it require a losing candidate to concede for the President-elect to take office) she gracefully addressed the country, assuring us that we should accept the results of the election as final.  

“A fundamental principle of American democracy is that when we lose an election, we accept the results. That principle, as much as any other, distinguishes democracy from monarchy or tyranny. And anyone who seeks the public trust must honor it. At the same time, in our nation, we owe loyalty not to a president or a party, but to the Constitution of the United States, and loyalty to our conscience and to our God,” said Harris. 

Her words excluded name-calling and avoided dwelling on the perceived threats of a second Trump administration. Instead, she empathized with the emotional investment her supporters had made in the campaign and offered a hopeful call, especially to young Americans, urging them not to disengage after a disappointing result but to continue advocating for their values. 

Harris continued, “I know many people feel like we are entering a dark time, but for the benefit of us all, I hope that is not the case. But here’s the thing, America, if it is, let us fill the sky with the light of a brilliant, brilliant billion of stars.” 

This election season felt particularly long and exhausting.  

Billions of dollars were spent to capture our attention, all for one simple act of picking one name over another — one that more than a third of the nation’s eligible voters chose not to exercise. The results brought jubilation to some, mourning to others, relief to those who were simply glad it was over, and many lingered in between.  

In the aftermath, the divisions of the campaign season linger, and the finger-pointing has already begun.  

Despite widespread concerns about how this election would unfold, it proved something vital: our system of running elections can and does hold strong when everyday Americans show up to serve it. This result, along with Vice President Harris’s humility and commitment to a peaceful transfer of power, provides a crucial foundation for any path toward a brighter future for American democracy. 

Common ground over solution exists; finding it may take creativity and hard work. 

Now is the time for essential conversations about the best path forward to strengthen our diverse democracy. The election results lend some insight into our shared societal hopes, but a vote is limited in what it reveals about our deeper needs, wants, and aspirations as Americans. 

How we cast a ballot doesn’t negate the truth that, beneath our differing views, we share common desires: peace, belonging, purpose, and a standard of living we can afford.  

Common ground over solution exists; finding it may take creativity and hard work. 

In Lincoln’s words from his Second Inaugural, “With malice toward none, with charity for all, with firmness in the right as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in, to bind up the nation’s wounds.” 

Reflecting on where we’ve been, can help us understand where we’re going as a nation. 

Allow yourself a moment to savor the win or feel the hurt, then let’s begin the journey of building a better future together. With her concession, the Vice President has already taken that first step forward on the path to healing.