This election has led some of the most polarized platforms the American democratic system has seen in recent history—perhaps in even more than just recent. The young Left already seems disillusioned by the results, and much of Trump’s Right is still in an excited disbelief. The sheer improbability of these results was enough to shake the nation to its core, introducing rejuvenated excitement among some and a newfound fear among others.

With vandalistic riots on one side and violent hate crimes on the other, there is no doubt that the election’s campaigns have called out the polar extremes of the political spectrum to express themselves openly and freely. Many fear for the fate of the nation under President Trump. Many others cheer for the aggressive “Trump Revolution.” Many might also be forgetting the stubborn, lasting fortitude of the American system of government.

Whether your familiarity with American history comes from a college major, a high school course, or even Lin-Manuel Miranda’s "Hamilton," you might already be aware of one of the first and most substantial, polarized, political rivalries: Alexander Hamilton and Thomas Jefferson. For those not following, Hamilton and Jefferson disagreed on many, many fronts, often pertaining to the size and power of the federal government. Perhaps most notably for Hamilton’s goals; they disagreed on the Constitutionality of a federal bank. With a Federalist control of the institution under President George Washington, Hamilton was able to see his dream of the national bank come to fruition. During John Adam’s administration, the Federalist influence on the federal government only grew. The Election of 1800 proved then to be a monumental point in American history, as insightful then as it hopefully is now.

Thomas Jefferson, a Democratic-Republican retaining the spirit of Anti-Federalism, opposed much of the already established governmental system. Much of the fear pertaining to Jefferson’s campaign came in thinking that his “Political Revolution” would tear apart the established system, ridding it entirely of the opposition’s influence. To the nation’s surprise, however, Jefferson’s presidency did not tear apart the previously established system. He did not kill Hamilton’s bank—admittedly, not for a lack of trying. The Election of 1800 proved for the first time that a shift in the political power of the nation’s natural factions would be just that: a shift in power, not a “revolution.”

That is not to say that a candidate cannot be elected who will act recklessly and harmfully. Take Andrew Jackson, for example. Unlike Jefferson, Jackson did kill the national bank. He also defied Congress to “relocate” masses of natives and threatened to personally hang entire populations. Jackson was, simply put, a bad president legitimately elected by the people. However, the possibility of another such embarrassing blunder is low, as statistically, only one in every forty-four presidents is, in my own opinion, Jackson-bad. Besides, the American system has proven far more often than not that a transfer in political power ends up being much calmer than anticipated. Just look at the transition from George W. Bush to Barack Obama. The two administrations had vastly different political ideologies, but the country did not die in the transfer (well, it almost did, but not for that reason). Throughout the presidential timeline, there is plenty of evidence that a major shift in political ideology does not vastly endanger the safety of the previous party, no matter how hateful the rhetoric seems.

It is all too simple to generalize and hurl insults at entire demographics and ideologies,especially in a politically heated period of time such as this one. The Right is quick to make tasteless jokes about the Left’s work ethic, and the Left is just as quick to blame the Right for the country’s prevailing civil rights issues. We are so good at and so quick to hate on the “opposition”, that we lose our sense of bipartisanship, our constitutionally precedent ability to compromise and understand one another. We forget that a single seemingly unfavorable individual will find it difficult to single-handedly trump the entire system he inherits, and we forget that we cannot progress without cooperation.

Already, President-Elect Trump seems to be retracting on some of his most polarizing statements. Already, it seems that President-Elect Trump has traded in his extreme temper for a more controlled, collected one. Already, the American system of government is showing its ability to calm and control; already, it is appearing steadfast.

I understand that the results of this election are unexpected and, to many, unsettling. I cannot pretend that I do not share the sentiment. However, I invite you to have faith in the system of government, to have faith in the government’s system of checks and balances.

Take it from me, a seventeen-year-old boy completely unable to vote.