This year, the differences between the two candidates are probably less than those that separated the candidates in past presidential elections. Up until recently, Trump and Hillary held similar positions on a host of issues, from healthcare reform and abortion to (yes) immigration. Now they’re both embracing protectionist policies on trade. Yes, they have very different personas and styles, and the campaign has highlighted the differences between them. But they are more similar than is imagined in terms of the laws and policies that would affect citizens’ daily lives under their administration.

I hear the “most important” phrase all the time from conservatives. It’s usually something to the effect that our country can’t survive four more years of Obama’s big government policies. On the left, one hears that if Trump wins (or Romney, McCain, Bush, etc.), the country will return to the era of Jim Crow. Mitt Romney would “put y’all back in chains,” Vice President Joe Biden said at a campaign event ahead of the 2012 election.

But American democracy is resilient. The “most important” theme is deployed to energize voters to get to the polls in a country with comparatively low turnout rates, and to generate donations to political campaigns and D.C. non-profits. Potential donors are more likely to cough up a few bucks to help affect the outcome of THE MOST IMPORTANT ELECTION EVER!!! than they are to pay for an airline upgrade to first class for the SUPERPAC chairman supporting a long-shot candidate.