Are we at a crossroads?
Regardless of how you feel about Hillary Clinton she has secured the Democratic nomination for the President of the United States. That is a milestone in our history. She has committed the majority of her life to being a public servant. She was the woman behind her husband when he became the Governor of Arkansas, she stood behind him (and I am sure had her fingers in the majority of his policy decisions) when he became the President of the United States. She then forged out on her own to become the Senator of New York and went on to run for the President of the United States losing to Barack Obama. She got behind him and went on to be the U.S. Secretary of State. She waited 8 years to come back and run again eventually winning the nomination. That is an impressive amount of patience and dedication.
Along the way Hillary had a child and became an advocate for women and children. She has been very vocal about a woman’s right to choose, gun control and the difficulties of raising a family while working at the same time. I would assume that that if she becomes President these issues will be first and foremost around policies that she will set forth in her administration.
Trump has captured the anger from the white immigrants who have been the largest population in this country until now. Our country is now a real melting pot where the majority of people are not white. Perhaps this angry white population is holding on to the past instead of embracing the future. There are a slew of reasons for Trump’s popularity but I am not going to go there.
Over the past week we can point to the Stanford rape case to the killings in the Orlando night club to the murder of the young singer to the car in Santa Monica filled with artillery on route to the Gay Pride parade and wonder how did we get to this place where guns are so easily obtainable for everyone and anyone and lack of respect for our fellow human beings became part of our daily life. How did we get to a place where there is so much anger, prejudice and bigotry.
I want to believe that this is the minority of people that has been amplified by the media. It is the time for the voices of the majority to stand up, just like the anti-war protests in the 1960’s and say enough is enough. Bernie tapped in to something with the anger towards inequality but there is much more there. I hope that Hillary grabs the reins and spends time out there talking about a vision for the future where there is respect and equality for women, gay, straight, transgender, religious freedom, the importance of family first which means putting money into education.
It is time for us to move forward. Our future is bright. I really do believe we are at a crossroads.
Comments (Archived):
Certainly hope so…
Our country is founded on prejudice and bigotry just as much as it is founded on immigration. It is not like this is a new phenomena, as you know. I enjoyed this post quite a bit. I see you embracing the Bern and the way you discuss Hilary’s track record makes it obvious you have been a serious follower of hers for decades. I really hope Hilary can bring gun violence to the forefront of her campaign especially since Bernie didn’t capitalize on it whatsoever. What do you feel about her foreign policy?
She understands that foreign policy is very complicated and layered. We have made so many foreign policy mistakes since the beginning of this country and I am sure we will continue to but keeping the door open and having communication with others on the side of the table is the most we can hope for. Acknowledging that we can agree to disagree and we respect each others way of life.
It is true that we, as a nation, have made foreign policy blunder after blunder, but I do not think that this makes Hilary’s blunders OK. Domestically she will make progress, and we are in great need of a leader who can do this. But, I have yet to hear Hilary supporters recognize the serious fuck ups that have resulted in hundreds and thousands of deaths over seas. This is all I ask for. Simply recognition from her followers that she needs to change her ways in regards to civil wars and more specifically dictatorships in the Middle East. You can be with her and still be critical, in fact, it is necessary. For example, I have always been critical of Bernie’s stance on gun control, and in lieu of the events this past weekend I don’t think I need to explain why. If Hilary is going to be our president, and remember I am voting for this outcome in the general election, then we need to collectively make it known that war crimes are not allowed for anyone in any position of power to commit. As a nation, we do not want to have the blood of millions of foreigners and thousands of American citizens on our hands anymore. I mean for god sake, this is the only history of America that I and educated people alike know. We must fight for peace even though living in this capitalist nation frequently blinds us to what peace really is. If she is going to fuse the Democratic party together, which means getting Bernie supporters to vote for her, then she needs to address this point on foreign policy, and pretty much only this point. I am already going to vote for her, as I said, but I don’t think this is in her plans as of right now, and the implications are terrifying. No?
Absolutely terrifying.
Excellent piece, Joanne – and resonates with so much of what I’ve been thinking.
Thanks Lisa. Just a terrible week for the US.
I admire you too – from Judy
Amen! What a thoughtful post, thank you. =)
“White immigrants.” That is brilliant. Totally brilliant. Did you see the NYMag piece on Hillary where she was asked if she thought ambitious women scare men because they know they might lose out on positions to more qualified women?
I did. You know that they are!