Madeline Albright said at the end of her introduction of Senator Clinton in New Hampshire on Saturday, “And just remember, there’s a special place in hell for women who don’t help each other.” This is not something new for her, she’s a Smith Alumnae and famously known as the first Female Secretary of State. She understands the struggles women face still, in not just American and World politics, but in life in general. I see it as I read comments from Senator Sanders supporters who say such things as, “The frontrunner for president of the most powerful country in the world is a woman. There is no patriarchy.”
Feminism is still necessary and an evolving word and has been changing it’s meaning between generations of women. But what I think women like Secretary Albright fail to see is that women who support Senator Sanders and who also call themselves feminists understand that there is a much larger issue here.
First and foremost though, I want to address something very important. I give younger feminists the benefit of the doubt. For any young woman who is willing to take ownership of this word, I want to believe that they understand what generations of feminists have done before them. They understand the issues the women who came before them fought for, such as their right to vote, for their right to join the workforce, the right to get educations. Feminists took on rape culture, sexual harassment, spousal abuse and gender discrimination on the job (you can get pregnant and keep working!). The list is long and so very important.
I want feminism to continue for my daughter and it needs all generations. By telling millennials they aren’t real feminists if they don’t vote for Clinton, we are literally alienating a generation for thinking for themselves politically. This is not how you move or inspire people, by patronizing nor questioning their choices by insulting them. This is not how you empower! This is not how you are inclusive. This to me is the opposite of what feminism does for women, which should be to encourage women to find their own voices, to speak their minds, even when it goes against the majority.
BUT, as we all know, there is still so much to do! Women still struggle for free and easy access to birth control and equitable health care. Women still face sexual assault, harassment and abuse and every 9 seconds a woman is assaulted. Yeah, nine seconds. Internationally, girls and women need a voice to bring what can only be called a humanitarian crisis to an end, where everyone has access to healthcare, education and opportunity regardless of their gender. Feminism is important.
But what Senator Sander’s campaign focuses on is the inequality in a system, the political system we have here in the United States that is rigged against the majority of people, regardless of race or gender. This system has only benefited an elite few, the 1% we so fondly refer to them as and that then excludes so many others, the 99%.
The younger generation that supports Senator Sanders understands that if we are to fix this rigged system, if we are to make the world a better place for women, we need to make it a better place for everyone else too. Feminism cannot alone fix the plutocracy. We need a much bigger fix here, we need the revolution that Senator Sanders calls for and merely voting for a woman will not fix all that ails us. We should not sacrifice the potential improvement for the many in order to get one woman in the White House. Feminism has historically been a movement for equality for all, for fighting against the wrongs done against those who are oppressed, not just women, but minorities, children and the poor. This is what this fight is ABOUT, about more than just women, but the 99% that has been left out in the cold, the diminishing middle class, the widening wealth disparity, the system that does not allow people to climb out of poverty as it used to.
As much as this staunch feminist wants to see a woman in the White House, this Smithie, who has seen fellow Smithie’s, Barbara Bush and Nancy Reagan there, there has to be a better way to get a woman in the White House!
I am a child of Reagan, I was in high school when he was our President and I have seen the steady decline of the middle class since then. I have seen how things have changed through the last three decades and I can say that nothing will change until our Political system gets an overhaul. It has to go beyond the shaming of young women for who they choose to vote for, it must.
So, I have been disappointed by this line of thinking, knowing that young women see that we have so much more to do than get a woman in the White House, but we must get a revolutionary there. If it happens to be an old white guy, so be it.
Affordable healthcare, education, climate change, basic issues that can bring more people into the middle class means bringing more women up from poverty. A Sander’s Presidency is a win for women.
There is so much more at stake other than breaking the highest glass ceiling. This is about breaking the 1%’s hold on our political system. This is about attempting to make Government work again for the people. This is about understanding that we can shoot for the moon, such as single payer, and still live in the reality we have. You always hope and work for the best, it’s what we deserve.
Playboy just did an interview with Rachel Maddow and I wanted to share this. It’s about why she’s a liberal and it’s part of the reason why I am too. It’s also why I support Senator Sanders. I think he believes this as well, that we need to get back to this sound idea.
Government works. That’s the most liberal thing about me. If we continue to treat government as the problem instead of the solution, we’ll never be able to harness the power to fix whatever’s broken. We need to restore American enthusiasm for our civic processes, because it’s the only government we’ve got. Whether or not you like the people who are running it, we have to believe in the system of government. It sucks, but it’s better than all the others. I’d fix that.
I support Senator Bernie Sander for President. I am a feminist who supports this revolution. But I also want to be clear, if Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton were to be the nominee? I will support her in a heartbeat. Not because I’m a feminist, because I am a Democrat. I believe in Climate Change, I believe in a separation of Church and State, I believe the Supreme Court is important! I believe that Senator Clinton is not just the lesser of two evils, I believe she is starkly different to a potential President Trump, Rubio or Cruz.
I believe in our future, I think it can better. I do still have hope.