When I wake up in Bangkok to a text from my most conservative friend back home in North Carolina expressing her fear, sadness, and disappointment with the RNC, her party’s leaders, and the future of conservatism, I know it’s time for us all to wake up. Maybe Trump’s candidacy can serve as the final straw; let it finish breaking the party down and allowing for a period of reform and rebranding. If Trump wins, the likelihood that the conservative party retrieves its traditional values of conservatism is slim to none. After his presidency, the US will lose the faith of allies and partners abroad, but more importantly, one of the two leading parties in our nation will lose the faith of the constituents.

So much has changed since Lincoln’s time. No, Republicans, the party is no longer “Lincoln’s Party.” The platforms, priorities, and principles have changed. And that’s okay. Instead of continuing to feed citizens lies in an attempt to appeal with a buzz word like “Lincoln,” advocate for your true positions; clearly there is a demographic who agrees with that ideology. Lincoln’s policies mirrored more of a socially liberal, modern democratic party platform, as he led our nation before the parties’ ideological switch.

Something else is exceptionally different from Lincoln’s day: we don’t have to choose between putting on a blue or grey uniform and grabbing a musket. We are behaving as if we are at war with each other, forced to choose a side: blacks vs. police officers, women vs. men, gays vs. heterosexuals, citizens vs. immigrants. The Civil War ended 151 years ago. The power in America lies with the people, a power that is astonishingly diluted when we draw a line and pick an enemy at each turn. Why are we relishing the divisiveness that so many leaders, on both sides, keep propagating?

A Clinton victory may not be the worst thing for Republicans. Her presidency won’t look too drastically different from what we see now. She’ll give the opposing party a few years to do some damage control without also having to deal with managing a wild card in the Oval Office. Clinton will give Republicans the gift of four years with a woman who is overqualified for the position and incredibly intelligent managing our affairs, while the GOP can be grooming a deserving candidate to put up a good, fair, beneficial fight.

Our system is so dependent on equally competent and powerful parties existing harmoniously and executing checks on each other. We need to get back to that.