Sunday, November 8, 2020

ON KINDLY UNCLES AND BREAKING GLASS CEILINGS

Ok, I'll admit it.  Biden wasn't my first choice.  And yet I have spent the last 24 hours awash with joy and relief.  Here's the thing.  I have come to believe that Joe Biden is just the kindly uncle we need right now. Sure, he knows his way around the White House and has lots of experience working across the aisle and, sure, he will work on the issues that matter to me - addressing climate change, striving to make  the American dream available to those who have been left out and left behind, getting everyone health care, conquering the virus.  But, really, the best thing about him might just be his avuncular manner.  

Yes, that comes with him telling long-winded stories about his youth and, well, being old.  But, so what?  He isn't unhinged.  He won't be throwing tantrums in the White House.  He won't be calling women pigs.  He won't be calling Mexicans rapists.  He won't be whining and poor-me-ing when he doesn't get his way.  

We all have a crazy uncle or grandfather or friend.  The one who comes to Thanksgiving dinner and won't shut up about every divisive or embarrassing topic he can come up with.  Or the one that comes to the White House and stays for four years.  

We have traded in that crazy uncle for a sane one, one who will at least try to calm things down and bring us together.  And that would have been enough for me today.

But there's more.  He has invited a woman, a Black and Asian woman, for Thanksgiving dinner.  And to the White House.  

People - I am a nearly-71-year-old woman who did not think she would live to see this day.  Women's suffrage was not quite 30 years old the year I was born.  The idea of a woman in the White House was not even on my radar during my childhood.  Men were Presidents.  Women were homemakers.

It took second-wave feminism to make the idea seem plausible, although it soon became clear that there would be many obstacles thrown in the path of female candidates.  I watched Shirley Chisholm run in 1970 and cheered for Geraldine Ferraro in 1984.  But, after Hillary's defeat in 2016, and listening to Trump and Pence express their troglodyte views of women in front of cheering crowds, I figured we wouldn't be seeing a woman in the White House any time soon.  

So, today, I celebrate not just the repudiation of mean-spiritedness and purposeful divisiveness, I celebrate the first female Vice President. The first woman of color to serve in that role. 

Last night, I had tears in eyes as I listened to Kamala Harris.  Women my age have waited a very long time for this day.  Today, my daughters and granddaughters have a role model. And little black and brown girls can look at the White House and see someone who looks like them.  

The 1950s called and we said, uh uh, we aren't going back.

So, tomorrow we can resume the hard work of making this an America for all Americans.  Today, let's pause to rejoice. 

                        Gif by Kaho Yoshida


16 comments:

  1. Love this. We need an emotional break and Biden will provide that and Kamala will bring joy to the the people.
    I bet Melania is already packing!

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  3. Well said, you. Two comments: Joe's wide and deep kindness quotient is the perfectly balanced measure of antidote we're needing now. And. . of all the women who have aspired to public office throughout our history, Shirley Chisholm's glee is the greatest.

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  4. Thank you, Bonnie. And yes and yes to your comments.

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  5. So well said. Ditto, ditto, ditto. Steady and honest looking especially good after this long, long dark night. Thank you.

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  6. Nice, I am almost embarrassed to say the things you are saying since my sons are so Bernie Bro'ish. But Biden isn't dumb and he is very principled. I also find the put downs of Biden because he is old distasteful. I am getting old and so far I am better at some types of integration. I think Biden might be also. People think he is losing it because he can't remember a word. No, he just can't remember a word. It isn't pretty but it doesn't mean a whole lot.

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    1. Thanks for your thoughts, Katie. (Pretty sure Bernie would not have won and we would have had 45 for another 4 years. Horrible to contemplate.)

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  7. Nicely said, Marjorie. Today I awoke to a beautiful rainy morning after months of intense heat and smoky air here in California, and with a sense of relief as fresh and unfamiliar as the cool morning air. We have all been holding our breath the past 4 years, waiting for this nightmare to end. I am aware this country has much to do and many will resist our kind new president and dynamic groundbreaking VP, but they are what we need to restore order, decency, and the belief in the possible. Sometimes just good enough is more than enough. Thanks for your always thoughtful view and beautiful way of expressing it!

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    1. Thank you for your kind words and thoughtful comments.

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  8. As always, thanks, Marjorie for your thoughtful writing. Biden was not my first choice either, but he is a good man. I believe his goodness is shown by choosing Kamala for VP. We may not get the resolution we had hoped for, as the sociopath will be a world class heckler. I trust Biden to lead by example, with grace and dignity. Young children will not only be able to listen and learn from the President, but the example of a female VP as well.

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  9. So happy to read your post. Thank you!

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