HERSTORY

I teared up this morning when I saw clips of Hillary’s nomination. We made herstory last night. And IT MATTERS. Every time a glass ceiling is broken it matters. Every time women or people of color can see themselves reflected in a position of influence and power it matters. Patriarchy is real. Racism is real. Breaking through is something that matters.

I voted for Bernie Sanders. His solidly progressive stance and his refusal of corporate money were enough to seal the deal for me. But I have never been seduced by the idea that the liberation that we seek will come from a president. Not from Bernie, not from Obama, not from Hillary.

Yes. The presidency matters. The climate, the supreme court, whether war or peace. But let us not lose sight that when we vote for president what we are actually doing is helping to shape the field of struggle. Our work is on the ground. Our work is shifting culture. Our work is in turning to one another, it is in challenging the state and its corporate oligarchy while persistently, rebelliously, passionately lifting each other.

Once we accept that at this stage of the presidential election what we have in our hands is a battle between a moderate and a scare-mongering narcissist, then our choice is pretty straight forward.

Aware of her moderate politics, we can take a look at the first woman nominee for a major political party of these United States and face the fact that never has anyone been more prepared to take the mantle of the presidency. It behooves us to recognized that she is being held to a standard that no male candidate has ever been held to. Her experience, her pragmatism and yes, her understanding of power, are all important qualifiers for that role. And yet we cannot accept her.

If you don’t think that patriarchy is not at the heart of the animosity towards Hillary Clinton, then you are simply in denial. And this is precisely why it matters that we, all of us who are part of the history of this nation, made herstory yesterday night.