Is it sinking in? Americans have just reclaimed their government. Hard to believe, and what a relief. As they say, when you bring down big game, this is when the work begins. So, what happened, why, and what’s next?

In the length of a (hiss, boo) political ad, and so much nicer, here is what happened, why, and where we go from here. It is “Morning in America” again!

Step back 20 paces and here is what you see:  The triumph of common sense and accountability over often harsh, inaccurate, untruthful, extreme rhetoric, which seemed a cover for extreme behavior, otherwise known as arrogance in power.

Within months, we should see the restoration of respect for the individual, more limited government, and promises made long ago to all Americans, not as groups but as citizens with fundamental rights to “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.”

If those words recollect something almost forgotten, our birthright to be free from overzealous, overbearing, unrepresentative government, they should. Putting the core Jeffersonian expectation into practice again, we should see a White House and Congress working for us, not vice versa.

We should see a return to respect for the citizen’s hard work, the right to their money, the right not to have it sucked up and unaccountably spent by pro-government leaders, unfaithful to who we are.

We should see restored respect for boys and girls, men and women of law enforcement, the military, and the rights of working people, who often do not have time to protect those rights but honor them and rightly expect them to be honored by their government, free speech, the exercise of religion, chance to protect themselves and their families, freedom from harassment.

About to be led by someone who experienced merciless persecution by their government, who visibly suffered at the hands of an abusive, entitled, corrupt government, we will have normal again.

We will have two at the helm who know what it means to be targeted, who will guard against that kind of abuse, and a president in Donald Trump who has had the tenacity, temerity, and courage to “fight” the abuse – even when they tried to jail, bankrupt, nearly kill him. Imagine the insight he has.

We will have a vice president in J.D., Vance who is the American Dream in living color, who came from nothing, rose above his circumstances, an addicted mother, poverty, no privilege, and who plainly values – has lived – the idea of dreaming big, working hard, military service, aspiring, and achieving.

What else is coming? We have people who understand and do not disbelieve or disrespect the greatness of American history, character, heart, heritage, and – to borrow from De Tocqueville – our Nation’s uniqueness, our historical and current exceptionalism.

We will soon see the end of creeping Marxism, no more pushing it in our schools, workplaces, and by a misguided government – no more insidious three-letter codes for disrespect of the individual, subsurface prejudice, redistribution of wealth, suppression of rights, offensive narratives.

Gone will be the federal embrace of DEI, CRT, ESG, and class warfare (that is, power concentration, suppression of individualism, group identities, and propaganda for a perpetually divided America).

What this election shows is that Americans – those who stop, think, feel, learn, and wish for the American Dream, want the chance to chase their opportunities with freedom – not more Marxism.

Huge chunks of America, young and old, men and women, working and aspiring, blacks, Hispanics, White, urban and rural, Christian, Jewish, and Muslim did not buy Marxism, never did. They just want good jobs, a chance to keep what they lawfully earn, low inflation and interest, affordable groceries, gas, and housing, less spending, fewer mandates, and no more being told what to do.

They want peace, prosperity, and an education for their kids, a chance to speak, live their faith without harassment, schools and leaders who know right and wrong, a boy from girl, math, science, reading, writing, skilled trades, a society that gives kids truth, dignity, and clarity, not the reverse.

This election shows we are tired of Marxists and dishonest politicians importing drugs and drug traffickers, gangs, criminals, and illegality.  We love our immigrant heritage but within the law.

We want, in the end, just an honest shot, same for our fellow citizens, a safe, secure, honest, hardworking, job-creating, free country, not one run by selfish, self-righteous crooks.

That is about it, and that is – finally – what it means to have “Morning in America.” Expect a return to individual prerogatives, speaking our minds, and celebrating life differently, but all dreaming, daring, digging deep, and a chance for doing, fewer excuses, entitlement, weakness, appeasement, mandates, and platitudes, more real.

If this election means anything, and it does, it means we are about to get back on track. Markets know it. Patriots of all flavors know it, young to old, and about time. Our adversaries also know it, so their attitudes change. We should take a moment and soak it up. This is what good looks like.

Robert Charles is a former Assistant Secretary of State under Colin Powell, former Reagan and Bush 41 White House staffer, attorney, and naval intelligence officer (USNR). He wrote “Narcotics and Terrorism” (2003), “Eagles and Evergreens” (2018), and is National Spokesman for AMAC. Robert Charles has also just released an uplifting new book, “Cherish America: Stories of Courage, Character, and Kindness” (Tower Publishing, 2024).