It is a sadness far deeper than the disappointment of seeing a candidate I believe in fail to have the chance to do the good work I know she would do. It is deeper than the empty sense of lost opportunity to continue the progress of the past 8 years: our fragile but building economic recovery, our commitment to improving the fairness and inclusiveness of our society and investing in a better future for all, and our troubled but burgeoning movement to transform to a clean energy economy and reconnect to nature and wilderness.

No, this sadness is deeper than all of that. This is a sadness for the state of our own humanity.

Donald Trump’s campaign brought our politics deeper into a state of bitterness and othering than any of us thought was possible. He unapologetically displayed hatred, ignorance, bigotry, sexism and dishonesty. He provided air cover for some of the darkest, most backwards and dangerous voices in our society to vent their violent anger and feel empowered in their scapegoating, discriminatory, self-aggrandizing views.

He was lude and insensitive. He bullied. He bragged about getting away with assaulting women. He did no homework and made no sense. He thumped his chest. He lied unapologetically and with a frequency and boldness never before seen from a presidential candidate. He actively intimidated and forcefully discriminated against huge populations of people in our country and across the world based on their race, gender, religion, or their beliefs — if those beliefs should dare to stray from his. He enthusiastically seeded doubt in our democratic process and boasted of his plans to reject the fair rule of law and imprison his opponent.

Trump embodied, time and time again, the opposite of the core values that the vast majority of people in this country and across the world — of all political dispositions — would hope to teach our children. Values like humility, grace, honesty, integrity, intellectual curiosity, unconditional love, fidelity, and renunciation of violence and materialism. Try a Google search of “values of a good person” or “[insert the name of any religion] values” and see if you can find anything that reminds you of our President-elect. This truth was apparent throughout the campaign as morally good and committed leaders on both sides of the aisle denounced him — or in the case of some, squirmed reluctantly into submission to his baffling popular momentum.

But my sadness is so trivial. I am so lucky to be in a position where I can lament what this election means for our country, our politics, our world, and our values — but still, more or less, expect the foundation of my health and livelihood to be the same. My heart weeps for my millions of sisters, brothers and fellow Americans who are so, so vulnerable to the reign of this wave of madness. Whose fundamental rights and livelihoods — and those of their families — are at risk. Who can no longer bring themselves to believe that they deserve the best or that they belong in this country. Who fear that they will be forever limited — forever looked down upon and cast aside — because of their gender, race or religion. Who cautiously and bravely, against all odds, have held out hope through our deeply flawed reality that the American Dream could one day apply to them.

Is this our new America? Well, it is a part of our America. It has been since the founding of our nation. And it has shown us that it is still much more a part of America than so many of us had managed to believe.

But that does not mean that the rest of our America — the America I know and love, that stands on the values of unity and progress, that is audacious enough to dream of a more just, diverse, sustainable and loving future — is gone. Nor does it mean that the progressive forces for hope and change have lost their final battle. On the contrary — we are just getting started.

On March 18, 2008, Senator Barack Obama delivered a speech on race, division and unity that embodies a conviction to which I am clinging so dearly right now. He declared:

“I believe deeply that we cannot solve the challenges of our time unless we solve them together — unless we perfect our union by understanding that we may have different stories, but we hold common hopes; that we may not look the same and we may not have come from the same place, but we all want to move in the same direction — towards a better future for our children and our grandchildren.

This belief comes from my unyielding faith in the decency and generosity of the American people.”

The American people have just delivered a blow to my own faith in our decency and generosity. But that faith must — and will — persist.

Our country has a complicated and troubled history, and we have a complicated and troubled present. But through all of it, we also have incredible beauty, bravery and light.

I am reminded today that beauty, bravery and light require an immense amount of strength, determination and faith. That change and progress do not come easily — and often, they provoke intense anger and backlash. The march toward a brighter future is just beginning, and it will be a long, long fight.

Today, what America means to me is to get up and keep marching. To relentlessly refuse to succumb to a loss of faith in our own humanity. To try earnestly and persistently to empathize with those who are celebrating Trump’s victory. To shake off all my temptations to curl up and give up. To believe, stronger than ever, that the vision for a more perfect, more understanding and more inclusive union will prevail. To realize that the perfect union I had previously imagined was not as inclusive as I might have believed — that it somehow failed to include all those who have been so galvanized by the Trump message.

Today, what America means to me is to reaffirm more deeply than we ever have before our love for one another and our love for this country. It means showing the world how strong our union can be by the example we will set with our reaction to November 8th. With how we move forward as many individuals, many colors, many ages, many quirks, many religions, many backgrounds, many beliefs, many dreams — and one nation.

As Secretary Clinton so powerfully reminded us this morning:

“Never stop believing that fighting for what is right is worth it.”

Let us embrace that message, and let us believe that what is right in this moment is to come together. To love our enemies and adversaries as we love our families and friends. To reach deep within ourselves and uncover that stubborn, quiet faith that we can find a way to build a more perfect union. Let us find that faith and let us spring into action — to fight for what we believe in, to protect those in need, to pick each other up and to keep on marching toward progress.

May we come together today. May we recommit ourselves to the pursuit of fairness and equality. May we fight like never before, and may we love like never before.

The future of our oh-so-precious and delicate union, and all the possibilities and dreams we are still capable of achieving together, depend on it.