Election post-mortem: Democracy isn’t dead. It’s thriving.

Democracy and hyperbole were on the November ballot, if you heard a word pundits and social media influencers uttered.

“If we don’t show up [on Election Day], it is entirely possible that we will not have the opportunity to ever cast a ballot again,” Oprah Winfrey warned.

Meanwhile, Hollywood director Rob Reiner delivered one of the cringiest pre-election statements: “A woman gave birth to each and every one of us. [On Election Day] a woman will give birth to a renewal of our Democracy.” Whatever that’s supposed to mean.

No shortage of polls demonstrated that millions of Americans believed that “democracy was on the ballot.” How that is interpreted varies from voter to voter. Some groused that the democratic nominee—Vice President Kamala Harris—wasn’t on a single primary ballot to be the presidential nominee, but Democrats pulled the ole switcheroo and made her the nominee anyway. Others believed that Donald Trump stood poised to destroy our republic and undermine faith in our elections, and let’s be honest: Trump has a documented history of baseless election denialism and concerning misbehavior.

Whatever the case, Harris lost by large margins. Trump not only won the Electoral College handily, but also the popular vote. To objective observers, it would seem that democracy has spoken resoundingly, and we ought to accept the results. However, that’s unfortunately not how it works in a world of tribal politics. Voters increasingly believe that democracy only prevails when their chosen candidate is victorious. Republicans lamented democracy’s supposed demise following the 2020 election cycle even though the elections were fair, and now it is the Democrats’ turn who believe that democracy is either on life support or dead.

“These results [of the 2024 election] are a damning indictment of the character and intelligence of millions of Americans who enthusiastically voted for a violent, lying, felon whose only real promise is destruction and suffering,” reads a viral post on X. In an attempt to explain how Harris could possibly lose, a University of South Carolina professor claimed, “What we’re seeing is the uneducated population of America holding the rest of the country hostage.” Put simply, not only has democracy failed, but if you vote differently than these individuals, then you’re stupid, which is a ridiculous assertion.

TV personality Stephen Colbert complained, “In this democracy, the majority has spoken, and they said they don’t care that much about democracy.” Another well-known Democrat wrote, “America failed us all.” A Gannett opinion piece even called time-of-death of our democracy (actually, it is a democratic republic): “Democracy, the grand American experiment in which the people ruled through their elected representatives, died on Nov. 6, 2024. It was 248 years old.” How melodramatic!

Pardon my bluntness, but some of you need to grow up. Voters didn’t fail anyone. They showed up and voted for who they wanted at the time. That’s how our system of governance is supposed to work. Sometimes you win; sometimes you lose. Simply because your preferred candidate fell short doesn’t mean that democracy has died, although democracy is a delicate institution that can disintegrate in the blink of an eye.

Regardless of whether you loathe or love the thought of Trump’s coming term, our Constitution, checks and balances, division of power, and so forth are still intact, and Americans will continue voting in consequential elections. Moreover, over 145 million Americans cast votes in the recent election. That is ironclad proof of a thriving democracy, and even some of the most ardent never-Trumpers admit that.

Erick Erickson—Georgian and political commentator—wrote, “An old friend told me a long time ago when elections didn’t [go] my way to never bet against or root against Americans. Trust their judgment and try to understand them. America doesn’t fail. Candidates do.” Likewise, former Wyoming Senator Liz Cheney said, “Our nation’s democratic system functioned [on Election Day] and we have a new President-elect. All Americans are bound, whether we like the outcome or not, to accept the results of our elections.”

In every election, there are plenty of sour grapes from the losing side. I get that, but it is hard to square some responses to Trump’s re-election with reality. Many of his detractors claimed that democracy was on the ballot, but when a majority of Americans supported his presidential bid, his opponents claimed democracy had failed and the nation is somehow beholden to bumbling idiots.

Americans hold different values and philosophies that guide their decision-making in the ballot box. We ought to celebrate, not denigrate, that, and while the election was largely a Republican sweep, the next one may be a blue wave. If it is, then that will also represent an active and engaged electorate, and no matter what pundits and social media influencers say, that is something to laud.