Election night was terrible. For people who want to build a better and healthier world, our feelings went from nervous to sinking to sickening. The final outcome was scary and, for some, disillusioning.

But you can’t let it be.

It’s okay to be dispirited. It will take time to even understand what’s happened and to process it. But we have no right to let us ourselves wallow. Far too much is at stake for us not to recover and do our work.

We need to mobilize, educate, and fight. The threats are real – attempts to dismantle health protections, block climate solutions, and undo progressive action for the environment.

But our power is real, too.

The half of American voters who supported Donald Trump were angry, but none of them want more polluted air and water for their children. The other half who supported Hillary Clinton certainly do not.

Sometimes setbacks, even the most difficult defeats, are where you can find your power. Communities come together to defend what they hold dear. Citizens, distracted by everyday life and lulled by progress, wake up and become activists. It will certainly be much easier for our opponents if we choose to be disillusioned, to surrender to their temporary victory.

The day after losing a presidential election, Hillary Clinton reminded us that “Democracy demands our participation.” If your plan was to just vote for her and let her do the rest – well, now it’s our turn to do the fighting.

So what comes now? We have to assume President-elect Trump will fill his government with those who will not work to solve climate change and boost clean energy. We must hold him, and them, accountable. Democracy gives him the right to his office, but it gives us the right to make our voices heard.

We must now fight to keep our air and water clean, protect our land and oceans, and seek to solve the great crisis of climate change. The fact that it will now be harder is no excuse. We must inspire the large majority of Americans who share our values to stand up.

As you do, remember the generations before us who had to fight harder, risk more, and faced greater odds. They didn’t allow defeat to derail their mission, and neither should we. As Tim Kaine, quoting Faulkner, said in his concession “They killed us but they ain’t wupped us yet.”