Like it or not, history was made last night when Hilary Clinton accepted the Democratic National Party nomination for President of the United States. Many people don’t like her. Many would probably go so far as to say they hate her. I like her and if you’re interested, I’ll tell you why.
From the time I was a little girl, I was raised in the belief that I could become anything I wanted to in my life if I worked hard enough. Call it cognitive dissonance if you want, but for at least my youngest years, I was unaware that there were limits on what I could achieve based on my gender.
Along with this belief that my possibilities were unlimited, my parents also instilled in my the core value that we should all serve our communities to the best of our abilities. And, for most of my life; from the Girls Scouts to Habitat for Humanity, I have been doing just that.
It wasn’t until I began looking at colleges that I was aware that until my junior year in high school, most of the more prestigious universities in our country were not even open to women. Sure, most had excellent “sister” schools, but having lived through the tumult of the sixties and early seventies, “separate but equal” did not resonate with me very well. In fact, one of the reasons I chose to attend Rutgers College was because they had only allowed women to apply the year before I was eligible; just one year. And, even though my guidance counsellor tried to get me to go to Douglas College, Rutger’s “sister,” I wanted to be among one of the first classes of women to break down the ivy walls of discrimination.
After graduating, I took a job as in a management training position for a lawn and garden company. Almost from the beginning I was told I would never be promoted to a position of management because I was a woman; I was too weak. The men I worked with in the business would never accept me.
Despite being told that over and over again, I persevered. Along with a handful of other young women, we pushed and pushed until a few of us were given management positions. We were not too weak, the opposition made us stronger and we were respected. There were still men and even some women, who believed we were in the wrong line of work. I remember one time as I was loading a 50 pound bag of bird seed into a woman’s car, she expressed concern that I might “hurt my lady parts” by such heavy lifting. I liked being strong and as it turned out, my lady parts were just fine.
In raising my children, I encouraged them both to follow their dreams and I think Dave and I did a good job at instilling in them that gender had little to with personal worth or value. This wasn’t always easy given the fact that in raising them in the Catholic Church,…. well, you know……
Ok, and so what? Why Hillary? For one thing, I see her as a trail blazer for all women. In my opinion, history will place her amount the other great historical women such as Susan B. Anthony, Emmeline Pankhurst, and Elizabeth Cady Stanton. She is our Twenty-First Century Suffragette. And, like these woman, she has been maligned and vilified.
Throughout her career, Hillary Clinton has been an advocate for America’s children, working to insure that all children in this country are educated, despite their abilities, family income or immigration status. She fought for children’s rights in Arkansas, especially for children who were abandoned or stuck in the foster care system. In 1997 she worked with Ted Kennedy to help pass the State Children’s Health Insurance Program and then went on to work that all eligible children be enrolled. As first lady, she demonstrated that she had a lot more to offer that in choosing china for the White House. According to Wikipedia, “After Eleanor Roosevelt, Clinton is regarded as the most openly empowered presidential wife in American history.”
As a wife, she has demonstrated unwavering commitment to a very flawed husband in a manner that I believe shows grace and great courage at the expense of her own public perception, much in the same way she demonstrates the same commitment to our country. In this respect, I have always admired Hillary. To me, she ranks up there on the list of other First Ladies like Eleanor Roosevelt and Jackie Kennedy whose husbands also strayed while in office. The main difference between Hillary and these women is that the Press had the decency to keep a lid on those stories.
I could go on about how much it means to me that a strong, caring, qualified woman has been entrusted by her party to carry the mantle in this election, but I’ve gone on a bit longer than I’d like already. If you’re already convinced Hillary is not suited for the Presidency, I doubt anything I can say will change that.
On the other hand, if you have something truly positive (that means NO BASHING) to offer about her opponent, that clearly expresses why you think he is a better choice, I’d at least be open to reading it as well.