Focused Read in 3 minutes
THE NOMINEE
Hillary Rodham Clinton
First woman to win a major
party’s nomination for President
‘The fight was worth
it’
It’s fair to say that
being the first of any adventure or achievement does have added
pressure. You want to be the first to open the door to others, and
you hope you’re not the last.
This is a necessary
conversation to be having. I wrote a whole chapter in my upcoming
book about being a woman in politics because I wanted people,
particularly young women and men, to have some sense of what it is
like to break through barriers. I tried to put in context what my
life was like before I ever stood on the stage in Philadelphia to
accept the nomination of the Democratic Party. My husband had a
powerful story to tell about his upbringing and his background, and
Barack Obama had a unique and powerful story to tell. Few people
would find my story quite so compelling or dazzling because I came of
age as a young woman in the middle of the country in the middle of
the last century. But I think my story, like the stories of so many
women of my time, is as inspiring as any other—and it really is the
story of a revolution. I came of age at a time when things were
starting to change dramatically for women. It’s an important piece
of our history that needs to be retold and understood so that the
young men and women coming behind us understand that the movement
toward women’s equality is just as urgent and vital as ever.
Sexism has not disappeared
from our society, let alone our politics. There are numerous
real-world examples in business, in politics, in other fields of
women not being treated equally. If you have a wife in the workplace,
or a daughter, or a sister, or a mother, you have a stake in speaking
out and standing up for women being treated respectfully and equally.
Sexism still exerts a pull on our lives and our choices. It is a very
subtle but clear continuing challenge that has to be acknowledged,
and confronted. Because we do our work on the public stage, women in
politics all have stories to tell. We are often demeaned or belittled
or insulted for pursuing our interests and our careers. So we have to
be doing all we can to open the aperture of understanding and
acceptance. My gender is my gender. My voice is my voice. I love to
quote the first woman in a presidential Cabinet—Frances Perkins,
who served under FDR—who said, “The accusation that I am a woman
is incontrovertible.” So embrace that, and be proud of it.
The fact that I was a
woman advocating for women’s rights and for equality and for health
care made my passion for these issues even greater. My hope for young
women coming up is to develop that confidence and that commitment
about what you want to make of your own life, and to support other
women as they pursue their own ambitions and dreams.
There is a great
opportunity in politics and public service to be rewarded by the
impact that you can make. Being in the room makes the government more
representative of the people. I found that to be the case in the Oval
Office and the Senate chamber, and as the Secretary of State in some
foreign capital, as an advocate for issues that matter to me.
It is better than it used
to be. The institutional, structural obstacles have largely been
eliminated, although I fear that the current Administration may try
to reinstate some of those. At the moment, what we are up against is
more attitudinal than institutional, and therefore everyone can play
a role. But I think it also must happen in classrooms, starting at a
young age. We know that oftentimes girls are not as encouraged, or
aren’t confident enough to raise their hands and speak out. We know
that girls as young as 6 believe that boys are smarter. We know that
as young girls become young women, pressures increase about how they
look and how they dress and how they behave. All of that can be very
disorienting and lay the groundwork for the kind of cultural
mistreatment of women that is all too acceptable.
We have to guard against
backsliding, especially with this Administration—turning the clock
back on women’s roles in everything from business and politics to
the military. But we also have to just recognize that we still have
work to do to change attitudes. And we need more role models. You
can’t, as the saying goes, imagine doing something that you can’t
even see. How do you plan to be an undersea explorer or a general in
the military or a great scientist if you don’t see role models? All
of this is part of the challenge that we face going forward.
Another concerning
phenomenon is online bullying. So much of it is aimed at girls, and
so much of it comes out of a sense of nasty behavior, mean-girls
syndrome, whatever you want to call it. But a lot of the girls who
are being mean to other girls are doing it because they’re trying
to curry favor — they’re trying to get some kind of position in
their own young society that helps to assuage their insecurities. We
have to recognize that this is an ongoing issue. It’s not just
about politics. It’s about every single woman’s story. And every
girl’s dreams.
These cultural barriers
have persisted even though we’ve knocked down legal barriers. And
part of the challenge is that you do have to be well prepared and
highly competent and work hard. All of that is true. It should not be
an impossible task for more women to achieve their own goals, but we
face what is a pernicious double standard that is aided and abetted
by the idea of perfectionism.
The curse of perfectionism
is an issue I’ve spoken about in the past. So many young women feel
like they have to be perfect—that the world is telling them they’re
not pretty enough, thin enough, smart enough, nice enough, likeable
enough … whatever it may be. That somehow they fall short. I’ve
tried to make it as clear as I can that they shouldn’t be held back
by this imposition of perfectionism. Nobody can achieve that. Yes,
you have to be good, you have to be competitive. But don’t let it
paralyze you. Don’t let it undermine you. Don’t give in to those
who are constantly demanding more and more of you when frankly they
don’t demand the same of your male counterparts.
There are no perfect
people. So many articles about me always say, “Oh well, she’s
flawed.” Well, name a person who isn’t! But that was part of the
whole diminishment: Don’t listen to her, don’t follow her, don’t
vote for her. Let these other guys entertain you and go on their
merry way, flaws front and center. Embrace the fact that you’re not
perfect—nobody is. Every one of us is flawed. Every one of us has
challenges that we have to overcome. Embrace the fact that you’re
going to do the very best you can, to produce good work, to be a good
person who is understanding and empathetic. We’ve got to get to a
point in our society where you expect excellence and you deliver
excellence, but women should not be judged by a different set of
standards about how they produce their work and how it’s judged.
I want to support people
whose values I share to run for office, to wage campaigns, to
advocate for public position, to be supported both in politics and
government to do what is right. I have a new organization, Onward
Together, where we are taking these small startups that came out
after the election and looking to encourage more people, particularly
young people and young women, to run for office at all levels of
government. But we also want to encourage people to get more engaged
in our civic life—to understand what a town hall meeting is, to use
your voice and your vote to influence politics and the people who
represent us. I’m very committed to doing everything I can to help
the Democrats take back the House and to maintain if not grow our
position in the Senate as a check and balance on the current
Administration.
I don’t want anyone to be discouraged by my defeat or say that they shouldn’t try or support others who will try. We can’t give up trying. This past
election was unprecedented in so many ways. In my upcoming book I try
to sort out what I could have done differently, what my campaign
could have done differently. But you also have to recognize that you
had the unprecedented intervention by an FBI director. You had a
foreign adversary successfully influence the election. You had voter
suppression aimed primarily at African Americans and young voters.
And you had sexism, which was front and center. We have to prevent
those things from ever happening again. And some of those are
long-term challenges.
I’m going to spend time
during my book tour, and for many years to come, talking about what
we need to learn about what was done to us in this election. Every
day that goes by, we seem to learn more about the interference and
the profound impact of that on the outcome. And that should terrify
every American. I don’t care if you’re Republican or Democratic
or what your independent leanings might be, what party you might
belong to, we cannot tolerate being manipulated by a foreign power,
especially one that is so bent on destabilizing democracy as Russia
and its current leadership is.
I also want my
presidential campaign to have helped pave the way for young women who
come behind me.
Because even though we didn’t win, we made the
sight of a woman nominee more familiar, and we brought the
possibility of a woman President closer. We brought into the
mainstream the thought of a woman leader for our country—and that’s
a big deal.
Everyone who played a role in making that happen should
be deeply proud. We ran into some big speed bumps right at the end,
and I believe I would have won but for those, and that’s what I
want people to believe. We have to get back up and get back out
there. Don’t be discouraged. Don’t give up. The fight was worth
it.
Clinton, who has served as
First Lady, Senator and Secretary of State, was the Democratic Party
nominee for President in the 2016 election.
(All emphasis is my own...)
You can find the original
interview with Hillary here:
Courtesy of:
"FIRSTS
WOMEN WHO ARE CHANGING THE WORLD
Focused Thought 15 seconds
Focused Action 3 minutes or less
Urge these lawmakers to
stand with Dreamers
The list of lawmakers provided by Center for American Progress Action "are the swing votes we need to secure passage of the Dream Act (with
no compromises!) and provide Dreamers with a pathway to permanent
legal status and citizenship. Call and tweet at them now to let them
know Dreamers are not bargaining chips!"
I'm fronting six Tweets to Retweet to get you started, courtesy of Progressive Democrats Moving - Forward Not Back's Twitter feed. To find more, please hit the "tool box" link below and share those that are important to you to share or share them all! TY!
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You can share this ⬆ Tweet here
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→ Direct sources for Democrats:
* ( Personal favored and most informative follows are shared here with the understanding that readers will always apply their own critical thinking to any information provided anywhere by anyone. #StrongerTogether does not share sources of information lightly but -- no one is perfect! -- so always #DistrustAndVerify I am using a star rating that is strictly based on my situational experience with the work of the media personality specifically in relation to issues of interest to me. )
The Democratic Party Website
C-SPAN (a good place for speeches & hearings direct source (s))
* NEW source of information: *
It's new, it's untested and it's format is a bit confusing but it's creators have a good reputation with facts so -- as long as it reflects truth, I'm giving it a chance...
Verrit: Media for the 65.8 Million
65,853,516 Americans gave Hillary a decisive popular vote victory over Trump...#StillWithHer reflects a mindset & a mission: to fight for a future where love trumps hate, dignity overcomes division, equality & justice defeat extremism & bigotry...With the essence of American democracy at stake, 65.8 million people saw through lies and and made a wise choice. But they continue to be marginalized & harassed. Verrit’s purpose is to become their trusted source of political information & analysis; to provide them (& anyone like-minded) sanctuary in a chaotic media environment; to center their shared principles; & to do so with an unwavering commitment to truth & facts. (Paraphrased) ~ Peter Daou
You can follow them on Twitter here
→ Some of my favorite, most informative
follows on Twitter include:
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ US Intelligence | Author | Navy Senior Chief | NBC/MSNBC
⭐⭐⭐ Federal Government Operations | Vanity Fair | Newsweek | MSNBC Contributor | Author
⭐⭐⭐⭐ Voting Rights/Voter Suppression | Author | Mother Jones
→ Some of the most credible media -- at the moment:
→ Some of the most credible Talking Heads -- at the moment -- and their Twitter handles:
Thank you for Networking for Democrats today!
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(Remember 2018...)
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Curated by Gail Mountain, with occasional personal commentary, Network For #StrongerTogether ! is not affiliated with The Democratic Party in any capacity. This is an independent blog and the hope is you will, at a glance, learn more about the Party and you will, with a click or two, also take action on its behalf as it is provided!
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You can find Vote411 here
Thank you for focusing!
g., aka Democrat
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