After the post-election daze wears off, it’s time to get to work.

Sara Rubin here, bleary eyed after a long election night. There’s the literal meaning to that—the wonderful journalists I work with here at the Weekly fanned out to watch parties all over the county to cover some key races last night, then they file photos and stories late into the evening. (You can read those stories at the links below, and look for more in the coming days on montereycountynow.com.)

Of course there was also Donald Trump’s return to the White House, a rebuke to just about everything that defines American governance—a system of checks and balances, a bureaucracy free of political interference, promotion of free and fair elections that encourage, rather than discourage, voting.

He has campaigned on ambitious promises that go wildly far in making life miserable for many Americans (and others around the world). There’s little reason to expect he won’t fulfill those promises, upending norms in a way American society has never seen.

Our system, both at the local and national level, demands our participation, not just on Election Day, but always. Trump and his anger-fueled campaign offers hope to millions of Americans, and thousands of Monterey County voters.

For those who are not celebrating but who feel devastated: It’s time to get to work, not in four years at the next presidential election, but now.

I asked Ian Oglesby, who was reelected last night in a landslide victory to another term as Seaside mayor and who is chair of the Monterey County Democratic Party, what the next steps are. “How do we regroup and move forward? The work continues,” he says. “That’s what we have to concentrate on: What is the work we need to do, and not let despair take over.”

Of course, it’s easier said than done to not let despair take over. Oglesby’s advice is good advice—get involved in some way, whether that’s a small neighborhood nonprofit, or attending city council meetings to voice your opinion, or whatever fires you up. Don’t just wait to cast a ballot four years from now. “The main thing is, don’t disengage,” he says.

Last night I stopped in briefly at the Democratic Party’s Center for Change in Seaside, hours before the race was called for Trump, when people were still celebrating what they thought the night might bring—America’s first woman president, expanded abortion access, a more inclusive government.

One person I spoke to there was Winston Lindor of Monterey, who said he thinks a lack of civic education has given rise to the MAGA movement, a rejection of government rooted in a lack of understanding how it works, rather than an embrace of how to make it better.

“People are angry,” he said. “Everybody is against something.”

What will you be for in the next four years? For my part, I plan to keep on fighting for truth and civic engagement.