ALL the way up!

At a BBQ in 2013 we were discussing politics. Yes, that was stupid. 

I said that if Hillary Clinton ran for president, as we knew she was planning, I would vote for her. When asked why, I gave the shallow, flippant answer,  “Because she’s a woman, that’s why!” 😛 I may literally have stuck my tongue out at this point in the conversation. I know. I was promptly told that was a stupid reason to vote for someone. By a man….Hmmm…

Flash forward to this torturous election year, and you’d think I’d have many more responsible-grown-up, platform-y justifications for my vote for Hillary Clinton. I do, but that’s not important.

Truth be told, I was a Bernie girl on a lot of policy points. I didn’t agree with Clinton on everything. However, I conceded early that Secretary Clinton is pretty much over-qualified for this job for which she’s applying. Then we got into thick of it, and learned that the republican candidate mocked the body of a woman representing his own organization by calling her Miss Piggy, blatantly insinuated that a well-spoken news anchor must be on her period, and has bragged proudly about sexually assaulting women.

Yeah… I’m gonna go ahead and vote for Secretary Clinton because she’s a girl.

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If I delved into even the shallowest detail of the sexism, marginalization, and disenfranchisement of women – just since the election started – this post would exceed WordPress limits. I’m not going there. I’m going to the polls.

Tomorrow I’m taking my oldest daughter with me to our voting place, first thing in the morning. (She has a doctor appointment at 10:00, and I took a half day off work for it anyway. Hooray for timing!)

Now, my fourth grader has had a small share of crap from boys, my daughter. She’s been told she can’t do/like/play certain things because she’s a girl, mostly. When that happens I remind her that they’re clearly ignorant, and buy her another Mario/Minecraft T-Shirt. Of course, she’s experienced girls’ meanness too, and more often. There’s been Friendship Drama, Cliques and Clubs, you name it. I’m sure my kid is also far from blameless in the girl wars; this is fourth grade. The social affiliations and tear-downs have begun.

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Why bother taking the nine year-old to stand in line at our town’s dank senior center when she could be home enjoying a stolen morning of watching TV? Because women’s rights are human rights. Because this is a behavior I want to model for her – not just voting, but supporting people. Because tomorrow, my kid is going to watch her Mom pull a lever and raise another woman up. ALLLLLLLL the way up.

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We’ve done enough of tearing people down. It’s my fervent hope as a mom and teacher that tomorrow our nation will raise up someone who will makes it their job to raise up others.