What's going to happen on November 7th, 2018?

Or November 4th, 2020?

I really don't spend a lot of time thinking too far into the future, or getting ahead of myself.  But yesterday I was thinking about what usually happens after an election where some amount of power shift happens, particularly a president of a different party than the previous one, or one or both houses of congress having a different party in the majority.

Right now, there are a lot of people becoming engaged and involved in what's going on in society.  Not just in politics, but also generally more involved in their communities, their neighborhoods, etc.  And many of these people, like me, are "new" to this kind of thing.  I see a lot of people in the younger (20s) age group who have largely grown up with Obama as their president getting motivated to get involved and engaged, and even run for office.

I have felt very motivated to find things I can get involved with that will make a positive impact or progress for something I believe in.  I'm not sure I'm the right person to run for office, but that doesn't mean I can't put in some volunteer time, serve on a board or a council, or show up and be a visible support for social issues.

Age and (hopefully) wisdom will keep me focused and motivated to continue to be involved.  But what I've been wondering is how long this general surge of motivation in society is going to last.  Really, will people (and I'm not excluding myself here) continue to stay motivated if things "calm down" - if in 2018 the balance of congress shifts - if in 2020, we get a new president.  Will people stop showing up for protests?  Will people not feel as much motivation to be involved in change or progress?  Will these 20-somethings motivated to run for local or even state office carry that enthusiasm and idealism past 2020?  Will the upcoming generation grow up seeing this kind of involved be "the norm" or will they see it more like I saw growing up, that as long as things aren't too bad, or as long as your candidate wins, "the norm" is ok.

I am not trying to point figures or pin blame on anyone - and in fact if I'm pointing a finger, it's at myself because I need to be the change I want to see before I start looking at the rest of society.  But I do wonder if we will see a shift in society where we see it as a responsibility of our citizenship to be engaged and involved, or if we will go back to "being ok" with the norm.