Today, I think about what I always think about on Election Day, because I grew up in Philadelphia: The Continental Congress. The Declaration of Independence. The Constitution. The struggles of the flawed people who brought forth this nation.

And I think about the Free Quaker Meeting, a splinter group founded by Quakers (including Betsy Ross) who rejected their strict pacifist teachings to support the revolution, and were shunned as a result. Because political strife even then ruptured families and communities. Even the famously genial Benjamin Franklin wrote off his own son for supporting the crown, and never forgave him.

Today we choose a new president, and it’s almost inevitable that there will be fractures over her policies. (Yes, I’m that sure.) But I’m older now, and I understand that a president isn’t something you can order off the a la carte menu. There will be things we embrace, and things we hate.

But ultimately, we will support this president because she stands with the Constitution. And the Bill of Rights. And most important of all, the rule of law.

Because without those things, what hope do we have left?