Dear Hillary,
Sixteen years ago, when Al Gore lost the
presidential election to George W. Bush with the help of the Supreme Court
Justice, William Rehnquist, even though he had won the popular vote, I cried. I
was furious at an ancient election system which did not equally value the vote
of its citizens.
I did not shed a tear last night when I
saw Trump's numbers surpassing yours. I was in a state of shock and disbelief
like more than half of the country who had voted for you. However, this morning
when I watched your powerful concession speech, your grace, strength, fairness,
wisdom, and loss brought tears to my eyes.
Hillary, you did not need to apologize
to your supporters. If anything, we, your supporters, in particular, your
female supporters, must apologize to you for not having done a good job of
defending you in the last few months against the barrage of baseless attacks by
the Trump team, the media, the Republican party, Julian Assange, Putin and the
ignorant Trump supporters who had believed the lies fed to them.
We have to apologize to you for putting
yourself out there and making yourself a target for the relentless attacks by
the bigots, sexists and misogynists, both domestic and foreign. You did not
have to undertake such a monumental task of running as the first woman for the
highest office of this land. It took a lot of courage, stamina, dedication and
strong will to be able to withstand the amount of negativity you had to deal
with in the past year.
I, for one, would like to offer you my
most sincere gratitude for representing not only the Democratic party but
particularly, the hard-working, decent, intelligent and patriotic women of the
United States. You single-handedly bore the never-ending criticism and marched
on, never wavering from your vision.
Hillary, I am extremely proud of you as
a woman, a Democratic Party presidential winner, a Secretary of State, a US
Senator, a First Lady of the US, a First Lady of Arkansas, a skilled lawyer, an
exemplary mother and a supportive wife.
You are not only my hero, but the hero
of all intelligent women who understand and appreciate your devotion and
commitment to public service throughout your long career. You are an
inspiration. You and Michelle Obama are the greatest role models of strong, able,
intelligent, no-nonsense, and hard-working women of not only the US, but the
world.
Had Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady
Stanton been alive today, they would have been thrilled with your
accomplishments in having advanced the status of women in the US to the point
of winning the popular vote in a presidential election. Had our election system
been truly democratic, where each and every vote would count and have the same
weight, you would have now been the first woman elected as the president of this
nation. Alas, it is a shame that we live in a country where my blue vote in a
red state is always ignored, as if, as a political minority in this state, my
voice is unheard.
You may not have totally penetrated the
'glass ceiling' but you did crack it and your head was showing through until
the Electoral College pulled you back down. I am so disheartened that the
exemplary service of a hard-working, intelligent, visionary public servant
with decades of honest and exemplary tenure can be so unjustly overlooked and
minimized by bigots and liars. For that, I apologize to you from the bottom of
my heart. You did not deserve the insults, the lies, the defamation of your
character and your years of public service.
You can be certain your name will be
recorded in this nation's history books as the most exemplary first lady of the
United States, who instead of choosing to lead a life of leisure as most First
Ladies before her had done, decided to remain in public service by becoming a
senator and later the Secretary of State. You were not content with walking in
the shadows of your husband. You wanted to achieve great heights on your own
and to inspire change and progress by your own hands.
Hillary, you have achieved most of the
goals you set out to reach. Granted, you will not get the chance to return to
the White House as Madam President, but you have already accomplished a lot in your
lifetime. You have achieved what no woman before you had ever achieved. You won
the popular vote in a presidential election! You cracked the invisible 'glass
ceiling' and paved the way for the next woman to break it all the way through,
hopefully soon, in your lifetime and mine.
I thank you for your hard work, for your
grace and dignity, for staying focused while facing bigotry and sexism, for
your elegance, and for your presidential conduct at all times, for the years
you spent in dreaming, planning and executing your two runs for the White
House, for putting yourself out there to be falsely attacked and criticized,
for working hard towards improving the lives of your fellow citizens, for not
giving up, for staying strong and marching forward even when faced with
despair, and for giving hope to all the young girls around the world that a
capable woman can dream high and reach far. Had you lived in a more democratic
country, you would have now been filled with jubilation over your victory.
Had my daughter lived, I would have
liked her to follow in your footsteps by trying to shatter the 'glass ceiling'.
As Susan B. Anthony was her inspiration in fourth grade, I have no doubt that
you are and will be the inspiration of countless little girls in the years to
come.
Thank you and good luck.
From a devoted Hillary supporter..
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