This week saw the conclusion of one of the most vitriolic and divisive presidential campaigns in the history of the United States of America. Both campaigns spent billions of dollars attempting to discredit one another, while an increasingly bipartisan American media simultaneously bashed both candidates for any and all reasons they were able to discover, create or spin into a fever pitch.

While the outcome of the election was unfavorable to some (me included), many people (me included), are simply relieved that the end of the election’s yearlong process of mudslinging, political posturing and borderline ignorant Facebook posts has finally come.

The results of this year’s election show a markedly divided union, undoubtedly created by the deep ideological divides that have surfaced in the face of our current situation of economic uncertainty and social unrest. In fact, this is why I believe President Obama won four more years; he was able to downplay these divides by running a far less divisive campaign that emphasized the inclusion of a far broader spectrum of Americans.

There is a lesson that can be gleaned from this fact: America still remains the proverbial melting pot that we were all taught about in our high school history classes. We are a country built from the dreams of immigrants from every country on the face of this earth, and the values and standards we call our own are, in fact, a conglomerate of different ideas from around the globe. We are all inherently different from one another in that regard, but amazingly enough, we are all united under the banner of the United States of America.

In the wake of an election such as this, it is of utmost importance that we remember this. The divide between Republicans and Democrats is more apparent than it has ever been, and both sides have advocated an increasingly negative stance towards one another.

Fortunately enough, we live in a country where both sides are entirely free to voice any opinion they may choose. As a testament to such an amazingly rare blessing, it is the charge of the American people to respect one another and cast aside their differences now that the election has finally ended.

Our loyalty must lie with America first, and our respective political parties second. While the solution to our problems as a country may have yet to be seen in these coming four years, it only impedes progress to spawn disdain amongst one another for something as petty and shallow as a presidential election. If we all work hard at what we do and care for one another before we spurn each other, the situation in America will at least seem less dire than any major news outlet would have you think.

Respecting one another’s opinion, as well as one another, is an altruism that has become largely ignored during this election cycle. While Democrats, Republicans and members of other political affiliations have all the right in the world to think whatever they choose, infringing on one another’s right to do so via Twitter, Facebook or any other medium is only ignorance masked by self-righteousness,and does far more to damage our country than it does to benefit it.

Robert Frye is a junior majoring in finance. His column runs biweekly on Mondays.