One of the great things about our US culture is that we get to pick apart our politicians in any way that suits us. We get to talk about their policies and their personalities, and we can complain about their big fat butts.
Anyone running for US President should expect to be barraged. It is part of the deal. And this is happening now to Sen. Clinton.
While I don't dream of bucking this system, that doesn't mean I don't find it painful at times to watch. And I do see my life flashing before me.
When I was 25, circa 1975, I truly believed there would be gender equality in my lifetime.
By the time I was 35, I believed great strides had been made.
By the time I was 45, I realized we hadn't come a long way, Baby, after all, but we were still walking the walk.
By the time I was 55, the whole world was in a shitstorm.
But not long after that, the first woman who seemed to have a chance at the US Presidency had emerged. I have to say, as a woman, I was happy to see this.
Of course, Sen. Obama was always on the horizon. I remember well the speech he gave at the Dem. Nat'l. Convention in 2004. What a speaker! I remember people, including me, then saying, "Why can't we have him for a candidate?"
Barack Obama is handsome, young, smart, and inspiring. He's carrying little known baggage. And, wow, can that guy speak! And, for those who have been hoping all their lives for the first US President of color, he qualifies there.
I definitely can't quarrel with anyone who is crazy about Obama. And it should be little surprise that, in contrast, so many people are seeing Hillary Clinton in a less attractive light.
Heaven knows, we women of a certain age need to pay attention to lighting.
Nevertheless, I sigh for the fact that the culture has a dual language to describe men vs. women candidates: auspicious/audacious, bold/bitchy, steadfast/strident.
I have modified my dream of equality of the sexes in my lifetime. I see now it is a lot to ask to change our human hardwiring and so many generations of cultural shaping.
And yet I still hold hope for growing awareness. We have not killed the planet yet, and there are still generations to come.
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4 comments:
"I see now it is a lot to ask to change our human hardwiring and so many generations of cultural shaping"
I think the above is very profound. It is one thing to desire some significant change in our society, and you can pass all sort of laws. But desire and laws might have their work cut out for them when it comes to our DNA and culture.
Very interesting. Thank you.
The other day, I confessed my lack of optimism for the future to a physician friend. I said our cultural situation reminds me of a hospitalized patient who has a few non-lethal illnesses but then gets sicker and then experiences a domino-like collapse of different bodily systems. "That's stupid" he said. I wasn't surprised - people have been saying that to me for a long time. Now, you may say I'm stupid, but I agree with Ron.
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