Did you have the dubious honor of listening to September 10th’s presidential debate? If so, you might be—actually, regardless of whether or not you tuned in for the debate, you are probably concerned about the election and the future of the United States. Half of me wants to cry out, “what happened to America? She’s fast approaching her end, and if the candidate I don’t like is elected, all will be lost!” Part of me is like, “it’s just politics, kid, we’ll be fine.” And the most cynical part of me says, “it doesn’t matter who is elected, nothing good ever lasts and life will just keep getting worse.” 

None of these are true.

The doom of the United States is not inevitable, nor is her fall assured by the election of a displeasing candidate. But neither are our actions without consequence. 

That being said, it doesn’t matter who wins the presidential election. I mean, yes, on some level it does, in the short term. Long term, however, a presidential election has little to say about the decline or restoration of our divine liberties.

Elections are complicated things, and freedom is not won or lost in the hands of individual politicians, no matter how angelic or corrupt they may be. This is a beautiful feature of our constitutional, federal republic—on the national level, there are three branches of government with two branches of congress, who are inherently a check-and-balance to each other. But there’s also the vertical check-and-balances of state, county, and city governments, each of which has their own internal system of checks and balances. Because of this, political change, whether for good or for bad, is incredibly slow.

So what happens after the election? 

Life continues.

What should happen after the election?

Well, I, for one, am decidedly in favor of avoiding the apocalypse, so “life continues” seems to be a decent response to this question as well.

Joking aside, let’s take a look at the three biggest things that need to happen for an American renaissance to take place.

First, we must turn to God. He is the source of light, truth, and knowledge—and we desperately need all three. He is the source—both philosophically and religiously—of the moral code of western civilization, which is foundational to individual and societal governance. Any sort of social peace or political freedom will have its roots in His moral code.

Second, we must understand the ‘laws of nature and of nature’s god,’ to quote the Declaration of Independence. There are laws that govern the rise and fall of civilizations and of men, laws as natural and foundational as that of gravity and inertia. By knowing and understanding them, we will be able to understand and fight the battles at hand

Third, we must each discover and pursue our own God-given mission. Whether it’s raising a family, getting involved in your community, fighting for a cause, or whatever else God puts in your heart, it all helps. Because change isn’t going to be made by people in office, it’s going to be made by people on the ground, living life, and making their little corner of the world as beautiful as possible.

So was the presidential debate discouraging? Absolutely, yes. Is the election frustrating? Yes, of course. But neither will, or can, determine the fate of this nation. That is entirely up to you and me.