I’ve been interested and active in politics for a long time, starting as a little kid when my mom took me to my first protest rally. It stuck.
Some of my young family and friends recently have asked me, “Do you think we can win?” I think they’re asking me because I’m old. Which is fine because it’s true. And it’s nice that those early and long-ago lessons from my mom are still with me.
Last night, I attended the Harris/Walz rally at Fiserv Forum along with 15,000 other wildly enthusiastic people, including a young friend who’d asked me that same question. I told her how, in some ways, I’ve seen this movie before, felt this same excitement, been caught up in a similar kind of energy and hope. They’re the same feelings I had during Barack Obama’s first run, I told her. He was the first politician who made me cry with joy and yes, hope, the first time I heard him speak. And while I haven’t wept listening to Kamala Harris (yet), there is one, more important thing that’s different this time.
This time, while there’s the same hope and joyful anticipation, the same excitement and enthusiasm, it’s not primarily all about Kamala, or her running mate, Tim Walz. Don’t get me wrong. I think they’re both exactly whom we desperately needed (and perhaps even more important, they might have shown up exactly when we needed them). He’s incredibly authentic, smart and charismatic. She’s no slouch either, a brilliant woman, an experienced public servant who is proving herself to be an outstanding candidate. I fully believe she’ll make an incredible president—the first female, Black president. If that doesn’t bring chills, then you’re probably voting for the other guy.
But for me, here’s what really brings chills: This time, it feels like it’s about us. And Kamala tells us as much, in her speeches and interviews, in who she is as a person, at least according to her family, friends, and the people who have worked with and for her through the years. This campaign isn’t some cult of personality, the excitement over her candidacy based primarily on what she, and she alone, promises to deliver. This feels different, more like a movement than a campaign. Like when she tells us that she’s fighting for us, and that to do so, she needs us to (as Tim Walz might suggest) get up off the couch and join her. Speaker after speaker at the DNC convention has emphasized the same, with the Obamas (of course) putting it best so far, speaking about the legacy left by Michelle’s mother Marian Robinson, who recently passed away.
“She was glad to do the thankless, unglamorous work that for generations has strengthened the fabric of this nation,” Michelle said of her mom, “the belief that if you do unto others, if you love thy neighbor, if you work and scrape and sacrifice, it will pay off. If not for you, then maybe for your children or your grandchildren.”
And then her husband brought it home:
“[I]t’s not enough for just some of us to prosper,” Barack said, “[f]or alongside our famous individualism, there’s another ingredient in the American saga. A belief that we are connected as one people. If there’s a child on the south side of Chicago who can’t read, that matters to me, even if it’s not my child. If there’s a senior citizen somewhere who can’t pay for her prescription and has to choose between medicine and the rent, that makes my life poorer, even if it’s not my grandmother. If there’s an Arab American family being rounded up without benefit of an attorney or due process, that threatens my civil liberties. It’s that fundamental belief—I am my brother’s keeper, I am my sister’s keeper—that makes this country work. It’s what allows us to pursue our individual dreams, yet still come together as a single American family. ‘E pluribus unum.’ Out of many, one.”
My mom taught me that a rising tide lifts all boats. That when we help others, especially those who have less than we do, we help ourselves by building up the entire community we’re a part of. In business, we called it “doing well by doing good,” balancing what often appears to be the competing goals of capitalism and philanthropy. Listen, we’re only human, which means that we’re all self-serving at times. (Okay, maybe not people like Mother Teresa.) But to believe that any of us “makes it” alone, that the power of the individual trumps (my apologies) the power of community is simply wrong. And the sooner we let go of our American Cowboy Myth, the one that tells us all we need is a horse and a gun to thrive, the stronger we’ll all be as we work together to create the kind of world we’ll be proud to leave to our kids and grandkids.
So, back to the question I’ve been asked by my younger family and friends: can we win? Yes, I firmly believe we can. But only if we all work together. Because as incredibly talented as Tim Walz and Kamala Harris are, as organized and well-funded and competently-messaged as the Democratic Party seems to be this time around, it isn’t about them. And it’s not just about a campaign, either. This is about us, you and me, doing what we can to usher in a new and better future for all of us. Michelle’s mom taught her that. My mom taught me the same. And Kamala/Momala is reminding all of us of this most important lesson as well.
So what are we waiting for?
16 Comments
Yes. We. Can.
Indeed.
You are awesome. You have always inspired me and now I’m more ways you will never know.
Back at you! Thanks!
As always, Jill, just what I needed to hear. Thank you!
Here’s a secret–I write what I most need to hear. It’s my therapy. And if what I write helps others, then I am one happy camper. Thank you!!
As I read your reflections on the Michigan shores of the lake, I am lifted up, Jill. Thank you. Never in my lifetime have I felt such a desire to be part of the political solution. And, I hear my mother’s voice to my sister, Maureen, when she was going through impossible days of cancer treatment.
“I love you and that’s enough.” For my mother, love was always a verb. And this effort is about love in action. We can do it! Yes, we can!
You inspire, Jill! THANK YOU! ❤️
To me, politics are a way to express our values. So this campaign is our chance to work with people who share our values and see them come to life in new and exciting ways. And when love is at the foundation, there’s nothing we can’t achieve together. Thank YOU Karen, for sharing!
The possibility of replacing fear and anger with joy and optimism is energizing and I believe we all can play a role in bringing this to reality. Together is better.
So much better, right? Thanks Barb.
They ask you because you are wise~
Thanks for sharing your wonderful, inspiring stories, Jill
As always, thank you for your kindness Christy!
Well said for all of us Jill!
Waiting for my swag to arrive. Thanked a woman at a meeting for wearing her Kamala pin from the rally. I hope to be more active in the way I can be.
Love the messages of freedom and joy!
That’s the beauty of this “movement” Meg–we all do what we can do. And no matter what it is (like Kent’s t-shirt activism), the hope is that it all adds up to the future we’ve been waiting for. Except now, we can do more than wait. We can help create it. Thanks for commenting.
Yes we can …. Sandee Stelter Muchka ❤️
Hi Sandee! So good to hear from you and thanks for stopping by! It’s only been, what, 50 years (give or take…)? I hope all is well with you.