Republicans have for the past eight years charged that the Democrats, with their allegations of Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election, never recognized the legitimacy of Donald Trump’s first-term presidency. In the summer of 2020, a Republican-led Senate Intelligence Committee panel found that Russia indeed “launched an aggressive effort to interfere in [that] election on Trump’s behalf.” However, a May 2023 report issued by Justice Department special counsel John Durham also heavily criticized the FBI for the flawed handling of its investigation into accusations of the Trump campaign’s conspiracy with Russia.

In November 2020, it was the turn of President Trump and his supporters to launch their own complaints about the outcome of a presidential election. The president and his associates claimed that the Biden victory was not certifiable, alleging that there was widespread voter fraud in some states. Despite rulings by numerous courts finding no such material irregularities, Trump and his acolytes have continued to insist, to this day, that the 2020 election was stolen from him.

The denialism had poisoned the political atmosphere so much that like most people, I was seriously worried about the potential for violence in the days leading up to last week’s election, and in its aftermath. Given how heavily the Republicans had questioned the integrity of the voting system, my expectation was that the final result would not be known for days, if not weeks. And the danger was that the longer the outcome was in doubt, the greater the likelihood of mayhem. I was thus hugely relieved when it became apparent on Tuesday night that the contest was going to be settled much quicker than I anticipated.

Democrats are understandably reeling from the decisive nature of the Trump victory. But there are two silver linings in that outcome that they should see with clear eyes. First, having such a result that leaves no doubt in anyone’s mind, thus removing the threat of violence that could have disrupted every aspect of national life, should be viewed as a positive by every American. Second, the comprehensiveness of the defeat will force the Democratic Party to engage in the type of critical self-examination that it so badly needs, but would have refused to carry out otherwise.

Personally, I extend my sincerest gratitude to the thousands of dedicated and patriotic fellow citizens who helped run such a flawless election. Because of the heated rhetoric, poll workers in some parts of the country faced grave threats of bodily harm, but they bravely went and did their jobs anyway. Their impressive work, and that of state and local officials who oversaw the entire voting process, should put an end to the Republican nonsense that the electoral system has been so massively corrupted that it shouldn’t be trusted. I haven’t heard the president-elect and his supporters say anything about the voting system since they won the election last week. Apparently, to them, the process is fair only when they win. It would be nice for them to apologize for impugning the integrity of our fine compatriots who work diligently and honestly at all levels to ensure that we have free and fair elections during every cycle.

With regard to the issue of nefarious external actors meddling in our elections, I would argue that we should perhaps do some soul-searching as a country. Of course, our intelligence agencies should vigorously monitor and root out all forms of foreign interference. But there is no question that we have dumbed down our politics so much that a good part of the electorate has become conditioned to believe anything, no matter the source and how mindless it is.

In the 2024 election cycle, almost $11 billion was spent on political advertising, with more than $3 billion devoted to the presidential election alone. I have never in my life seen such staggering amounts of money spent so unwisely. The overwhelming majority of the ads were so bad that I kept wondering how anyone in either campaign hoped to sway any voters with the kinds of materials they were putting out. I started referring to them as peekaboo commercials. You keep expecting to see or hear something meaningful or concrete, but nothing of substance ever emerges. The way to nullify the misinformation efforts of malicious foreign actors is to inject maturity into our election campaigns. Political aspirants must show voters respect, and not treat them as if they are toddlers to play goofy games with.

The bickering over election results in the past eight years has diminished America in the eyes of the world. Our claim of being the model democracy that other countries are supposed to emulate has lacked moral legitimacy because of it. This great nation deserves a much better reputation than that. Those who have sullied America’s name with their election denialism should cut out that undignified behavior.