The year of man's imperfection...
Someone recently told me that 2016 was the year of man's imperfection, and as this year slowly starts to wind to a close, I couldn't think of a better way to sum it up. It’s been a year full of some incredible highs and incredible lows. We’ve seen changes happening in our country and across the world, and loss seems to be a common underlying experience for many, including myself.
Last week we elected the 45th President - it wasn't the result I wanted or expected. I know I'm not alone in those feelings and for those of us who believed so adamantly in the vision of stronger together it has been a hard week. And not just because our candidate lost, but because of the underlying hate, fear, and bigotry expressed during the campaign.
This electoral loss is particularly hard for me, and people in my circle. In many ways it feels like a repudiation of all the work I've been doing for years - the work to elect Obama and make history in 2008, the fight for the advancement of LGBTQ rights, and the push for substantial criminal justice reform. I know that this election doesn't necessarily mean the end or backward steps for any of these causes, it’s too early to tell for certain, but the dialogue and rhetoric unleashed in this campaign season serves to raise concerns that setbacks are likely.
And I would be remiss if I didn’t say that my heart breaks for Secretary Clinton. I know people have their opinions of her and always will, but I always saw her as a valuable leader and inspiration. She endured decades of public criticism that started largely because she didn't fit the mold of a traditional First Lady of Arkansas - she dared to be different. But through all the public ridicule, hatred, and personal setbacks she never gave up on trying to create a country and a world that she thought would leave things better off for future generations. That takes endless determination and grit.
I ask you: how you would fair if for 35 years people did nothing but criticize everything you ever did? It is easy to say you don't like someone, but it is harder to dig deep and really articulate what is behind that dislike. Sure, over the years Secretary Clinton has had positions or did things that didn't always align with me personally. Or god forbid make mistakes and wished she done things different. You know what so have I. That is called being human. Every leader, every politician, and everyone you see on TV or the national stage is fallible.
So yes I feel for her, her family, her vision for our country, and my party who through wins and losses is trying to make things better for Americans. Running a country isn't a business, it is politics. Like it or not it, that is what it is here in the U.S. and in every other democracy in the world that is guided by leaders freely elected to represent people.
But even in the midst of this electoral loss there were some silver linings, and for me the biggest was the election of my friend Lisa Blunt Rochester. On November 8th she made history as the first woman and African American elected to represent Delaware in Congress in the state’s nearly 230 year history. Lisa represents what is very much needed in Congress, an authentic voice driven to public service because she saw and identified with the struggles of people around her who were barely surviving, let alone thriving. I was proud to support her throughout the campaign and I am even more proud to call her Congresswoman.
So I’ll leave you with some language I drafted for Lisa’s victory night speech that wasn’t ultimately used, but I think speaks to this moment:
DC3FO
And for fun here is a video collage I made of my time with the campaign:
Last week we elected the 45th President - it wasn't the result I wanted or expected. I know I'm not alone in those feelings and for those of us who believed so adamantly in the vision of stronger together it has been a hard week. And not just because our candidate lost, but because of the underlying hate, fear, and bigotry expressed during the campaign.
This electoral loss is particularly hard for me, and people in my circle. In many ways it feels like a repudiation of all the work I've been doing for years - the work to elect Obama and make history in 2008, the fight for the advancement of LGBTQ rights, and the push for substantial criminal justice reform. I know that this election doesn't necessarily mean the end or backward steps for any of these causes, it’s too early to tell for certain, but the dialogue and rhetoric unleashed in this campaign season serves to raise concerns that setbacks are likely.
And I would be remiss if I didn’t say that my heart breaks for Secretary Clinton. I know people have their opinions of her and always will, but I always saw her as a valuable leader and inspiration. She endured decades of public criticism that started largely because she didn't fit the mold of a traditional First Lady of Arkansas - she dared to be different. But through all the public ridicule, hatred, and personal setbacks she never gave up on trying to create a country and a world that she thought would leave things better off for future generations. That takes endless determination and grit.
I ask you: how you would fair if for 35 years people did nothing but criticize everything you ever did? It is easy to say you don't like someone, but it is harder to dig deep and really articulate what is behind that dislike. Sure, over the years Secretary Clinton has had positions or did things that didn't always align with me personally. Or god forbid make mistakes and wished she done things different. You know what so have I. That is called being human. Every leader, every politician, and everyone you see on TV or the national stage is fallible.
So yes I feel for her, her family, her vision for our country, and my party who through wins and losses is trying to make things better for Americans. Running a country isn't a business, it is politics. Like it or not it, that is what it is here in the U.S. and in every other democracy in the world that is guided by leaders freely elected to represent people.
But even in the midst of this electoral loss there were some silver linings, and for me the biggest was the election of my friend Lisa Blunt Rochester. On November 8th she made history as the first woman and African American elected to represent Delaware in Congress in the state’s nearly 230 year history. Lisa represents what is very much needed in Congress, an authentic voice driven to public service because she saw and identified with the struggles of people around her who were barely surviving, let alone thriving. I was proud to support her throughout the campaign and I am even more proud to call her Congresswoman.
So I’ll leave you with some language I drafted for Lisa’s victory night speech that wasn’t ultimately used, but I think speaks to this moment:
After this election cycle we must all work to practice more love and kindness. To combat hate, and to reject cynicism that only serves to tear us apart and emphasize what divides us instead of what unites us. We are all in this together - E pluribus unum - out of many, one. So I challenge all of us, including myself to work together; to find common ground and common purpose; to embrace what makes us different; and to understand that our community, country, and world can only thrive together.In love and kindness,
DC3FO
And for fun here is a video collage I made of my time with the campaign: