Alright, let’s just calm down. Take a minute to close your eyes, inhale and exhale deeply while counting backward from 10. Allow yourself to feel at peace for at least a few minutes. Now, there is no denying that pretty much the entire American populace is angry about this upcoming election, myself included. We’ve heard “the other side will ruin the country” rhetoric for decades now, but it has amplified to an unprecedented level in the modern political climate.

I’m in no position to predict what’s going to happen this November because it’s still awhile off, and this election cycle has baffled even the most intuitive of political scientists. The air around this process has been toxic to say the least, and it seems that all that surrounds the campaign is a virus known as outrage.

Half the country views Hillary Clinton as a lying and untrustworthy criminal that should be jailed for whatever the bravest prosecutor will pin her for. Meanwhile, the other half of the country stands staunchly behind her in support. Love her or hate her (there seems to be no in between anymore), she is the Democratic nominee, and unless she is indicted and Bernie is able to somehow nab the nomination, she has a viable shot of winning the White House.

Let’s be frank, Donald Trump is a smart guy. He has managed to nab a major party nomination from a party that he has never been a part of, and he has managed to use the right language in order to spark this outrage from his supporters. This doesn’t make him qualified to lead the country at all, especially since he’s never held public office in his life, but that’s beside the point of this article. The point is that he is the Republican nominee, whether they want him or not, and he is a viable candidate for the presidency of the United States.

Gary Johnson and Jill Stein (the Libertarian and Green Party candidates respectively) are not going to win the election in November, I hate to tell you. It’s the same reason why writing in Bernie Sanders is not going to get him a win either. In the electoral college, you need to win states, not people. If the candidate wins 50 percent plus one vote, they win all the electoral votes for that state. Should Stein or Johnson do well in some states, and prevent Trump or Clinton from getting to that mark, then the candidate with the highest percentage wins, which makes it all the easier for the Republicans and/or Democrats to win. So you may identify with a minor party more, and more power to you. But the way the electoral system is set up in the United States, a minor Party is never going win in a presidential election; in fact, it’s counter-intuitive to your whole vision.

One major aspect of this election that we’re forgetting is the entire House of Representatives is up for grabs, plus a third of the Senate, with both having enough open seats to swing power from this terrible baby-Congress we’ve had to put up with! Let’s be honest again, this particular Republican-controlled Congress has done horribly over the past six years. From shutting down the government over the Affordable Care Act to blatantly refusing to do their job in confirming a new Supreme Court Justice, they have been sitting up on Capitol Hill and cashing our taxpayer money into their bank accounts while doing nothing productive! (So much for being fiscal Conservatives.)

Now, don’t get overheated. Remember that we don’t want to be so outraged that we blindly start shooting, because we’ll only hurt ourselves. Here’s a simple tip: if you’ve been angry with the way Congress has behaved the last couple of years then find out who your Representatives and Senators are, and then vote for the other candidate. The one thing these politicians care most about is their job security. If we can show them that they can’t keep their jobs for being children, then our legislators will spend more time actually working for the people. After all, if I went to work and refused to do any work while still cashing in my paychecks, my employer wouldn’t keep me very long.

Now back to the presidential election. Here are the different scenarios that we could be facing this upcoming January.

Trump wins, Republican-controlled Congress.

Honestly, this may not be as straightforward as it may seem. Is Trump even a Republican? Really, who truly knows. Does Trump really want to build a wall along the border with Mexico? Perhaps, but there’s really no telling if a Republican-controlled Congress would back such an expensive ambition (and no, Mexico is not going to build it, and the United States cannot bully them into doing it).

It’s really hard to predict what would happen in a Trump presidency because he is such an unpredictable character. My only hope is that he isn’t such a hot-head as he has painted himself to be. There might be some grudging complacency among the Republican Party as they enter into the last stage of Trump grief (that is “at least it’s not Hillary”), but really, it’s hard to imagine that Trump and “his own Party” would even get along that well.

Trump wins, Democrat-controlled Congress.

All of a sudden, “Goofy Elizabeth Warren” may be the first of many thorns in President Trump’s side. Needless to say, there will be no wall built, and pretty much the same amount of gridlock will continue to plague Washington. That is unless, Trump is really more liberal than he has shown himself to be. If he really is a “dealmaker,” as he claims to be, then perhaps he might be able to reintroduce that integral part of democracy: compromise with political opponents. On the other hand, he could just be a whiny hot-head who doesn’t get what he wants, but who is able to say right now?

Clinton wins, Republican-controlled Congress

This just may possibly be the worst scenario for the country. We are all aware of the political deadlock between the Obama Administration and the Republican-led Congress over the last six years. Well, imagine that continuing, but this time the Republican leadership is in self-loathing because their eight years of smear campaigning against Clinton didn’t do enough to keep her out of the White House. Our legislators will, no doubt, continue to sit on Capitol Hill and cash our taxpayer money while refusing to do their jobs. Honestly, this may not be an ideal alternate scenario from a Trump Presidency. More of the same gridlock we’ve had for so long is the one thing America does not need!

Clinton wins, Democrat-controlled Congress.

Probably the Conservative’s worst nightmare is this final scenario. The best way I can put it: try to remember back to the first two years of the Obama Administration. We’ll probably have more of the same here, but at least it won’t be gridlock. And to any Republicans/Conservatives reading this, honestly ask yourself, can you really trust that Trump is a true Conservative? For Trump supporters, this grand dream may end up turning into a nightmare for them if he shows his true colors and turns out to be more liberal than they like.

Highly unlikely scenario that Clinton is indicted, Sanders grabs the nomination and then runs into the White House.

There is no question in my mind that if Trump and Sanders were to go head-to-head in November, Sanders would win in a landslide. Sanders has the ability to bring people together, and a message of hope and unity is going to attract Independent voters more than one of bigotry and hatred. Maybe this is why Sanders hasn’t “officially” dropped out of the race yet, and it would be a hell of a dream come true for a lot of people around the country if it did happen! However, it is very unlikely that such events would take place. But, let’s go ahead and entertain the scenario anyway.

If Sanders happens to get the Democratic nomination through a very unconventional way (no pun intended), I can’t imagine that social progressives around the country wouldn’t vote for a Democratic Congress, which would usher the United States into a new era of Liberalism (much on the other side of the Conservatism of Nixon, Reagan and Bush Sr.). I don’t know how much of Sanders' agenda could get done, but one thing I know is that it’s better to aim farther than close, because the farther you aim, the farther your arrow will go.

Maybe this is the Conservative’s ultimate nightmare, and this above scenario could possibly mean the end of the Republican Party, which would mean it would be the first time since the Civil War where a new party would rise up to take another’s place. But again, this is a highly unlikely scenario.

What if Trump beats Sanders in the above, probably-never-going-to-happen scenario.

I don’t even feel the need to dignify a question like that with an answer (especially seeing as how I’ve already answered above). Put one politically-inexperienced Trump against one politically-seasoned outsider, Sen. Sanders, and Sanders will be using Trump’s face to mop up the floor (in a loving way, of course). I’m still not quite sure how Sanders' message didn’t resonate with minority groups within the Democratic electorate, but seeing as I’m not a part of those groups, I guess I probably can’t fully understand anyway. All I know is that other countries are laughing at us for it. But hey, it’s time for bygones to be bygones.

There is one general consensus among the American people right now: we’re not happy with what our government has become. We may not be able to pinpoint exactly what has caused such a disconnect between Washington and the people, but one thing is certain- it needs to be mended. But people, I speak to you in love, and across party lines. We are all Americans, and we all love our country very much. We all honestly want the best for our country, but we’ll never be able to bring about massive political change if we are constantly screaming at each other.

Besides, it’s not us who are the problem. It is our elected officials who refuse to do what we elected them to do. Our founders gave us the power to put out inefficient public servants, and it's time we started acting like we have the power. Get registered to vote, and vote in November. Once we get over this hump in November, we can start demanding reform. But, nothing can get done with the election looming just ahead, so we just have to be patient until Election Day is over. In any case, I think it’s time for us to stand up in solidarity, look at our politicians, and say, “you’re fired!”