To My Daughters:
Yesterday I proudly, and with
great expectation, cast my vote for Hillary Rodham Clinton. I lived to see the
first African-American president and I felt certain I was going to see the
first woman become the 45th president of the United States. However,
it was not so.
I am heart broken. While I am working
through the disappointment of “that highest and hardest glass ceiling” still
existing – I am even more discouraged by what the election of Donald J. Trump
means for and about our country. He has campaigned with careless calls to
violence, bigotry, racism, sexism, and xenophobia. He has taken the long
covert, shamefully lingering intolerance of our past and allowed it to once
again be acceptable and overt.
He has preyed on our fear and
weaponized it against us. And with great sadness I tell you, people rallied
behind such a message. The darkness of America’s heart was revealed to the
world when we validated his rhetoric with votes cast in his favor. Most of the
people we know voted for him. Indeed, I believe it is safe to say all of my
family of origin are on his side of history.
But, it is important to me
that you know on this most emotional day that your father and I continue to
stand for tolerance, integrity, and the civil rights of ALL people – not just
those deemed worthy.
Know that because of the
courage of generations before us, our country has evolved and grown to at least
know more about what “right” looks like, to better understand civic duty, inclusivity,
and justice. As history lovers we have read that once upon a time the natives
of this land were stolen from, murdered, and all but destroyed. Our black friends
were bought and sold as slaves, our children forced into labor, our Chinese-Americans
placed in internment camps, our women denied even the right to read, work, or
vote. All of these great injustices and many more, were once political topics
that impacted the American economy and divided families. What now seems egregious,
was once acceptable and preferred. What now seems acceptable and preferred, I
believe, will one day also seem egregious to a wiser and kinder generation.
As we look back with great awe
on the founding centuries of our country let us also find gratitude and respect
for those who were brave enough to effect change, even when they felt that they
stood alone. As the election results became clear into the evening hours I felt
a horrid cloak of loneliness take hold of me. I, like most of our nation, was
shocked by the results and with that came a feeling that I did not know my
country or my countrymen as I thought I did.
You, my valiant girls, will
not have the luxury of passivity or ignorance. You will never know what it is
like to fit perfectly in with the masses and comfortably accept the status quo.
This is simply not your destiny. I wish I could make life so easy for you…but
even I could not force it upon you. In your veins flows the blood of thinkers,
doers, feelers – people who must and will know more and do better. While your
father and I value knowledge, tolerance, and betterment – these are simply
resources for illustration that we offer to you. What we already know of each
of you is that inquiry and justice are in your nature.
Remember to be brave, be kind,
and when you fear something your greatest defense is to learn more. My world is
better than my mother’s world and I believe that one day your world will be
better than mine. Embrace that which sets you a part. That search for truth
that can be so painful does not seem to be intrinsic for everyone – but it is a
beautiful burden for those of whom it flowers and grows inside.
While, today, I am fettered by
layers of disappointment and worry for the days and years to come, I put my
faith in those agents of change. They have always existed, persisted, and they/we
will not be quieted now. Leaders will come and go – evolutions of thought and
theory will ever thrust us forward.
“And to all of the little girls who are watching this,
never doubt that you are valuable and powerful and deserving of every chance
and opportunity in the world to pursue and achieve your own dreams.”
-Hillary Clinton Concession Speech 2016
