I know what you’re thinking. You’re thinking I’m going to stand on my liberal soapbox and talk about how great Hillary Clinton is. You probably think I’m going to throw some statistics at you and talk about how she is very obviously more qualified to be president of the United States than her opponent, Donald Trump. Although these things are what we see spewed around through the media in today’s day and age, that’s not something I’m going to do.
Am I going to vote for Hillary Clinton? Yes. Am I going to vote for her because she’s a woman? Absolutely not. I’m voting for her because I’ve done my research and I agree with her more philosophically than Donald Trump. Do I think that there is probably a woman in our country with a more honest agenda who is probably more deserving of the presidency? Yes I do.
I want to share an experience that I had with you all. I was watching the Democratic National Convention back in July and I watched a moment in history in which the first woman in the history of the United States was nominated for the presidency of a major political party. I knew how monumental of a moment this was for our country, but I didn’t realize the affect it would have on me. I immediately began to cry as Hillary accepted the nomination.
Why did I cry? I cried because I had just lived in a foreign country for three months where women are expected to be the housewives and caretakers and very few women work for themselves. I had been objectified day in and day out and stereotyped because I was a woman and had just returned to my country for this moment in history. I cried because I still walk into the gym and I lift weights and I still get looks from men who question why I am there or if I know what I’m doing. I cried because although we have made huge steps in the right direction towards women’s equality in the United States, women are still making 77 cents to every man’s dollar in our country. I cried because she deserves a better opponent. One who does not interrupt her every time she tries to speak or spews mud across the stage in order to compensate for his lack of knowledge on important issues. I cried because she is her own person and is being held accountable in 2016 for the mistakes that her husband Bill Clinton made throughout his presidential term from 1993-2001. I cried because regardless of her past, she has accomplished something no other woman in the United States has done before. I cried because we are witnessing history.
So yes, I am a 20 year old woman living in the United States who is proud to say that we have made huge progress towards gender equality by having a woman run for president. Is she perfect? No. But none of us are. Regardless of who wins, the American people are witnessing history and that is something to be proud of.
