Dear Mr. Trump,
A couple of years ago, I made a bet with my father-in-law. I bet him that Hillary Clinton would run for president, and she would win. This had nothing to do with me feeling like she was the best person for the job and nothing to do with how I felt politically, but rather because I felt (and still feel) that the Clinton machine has had this election planned, and in the bag, for quite some time. It’s the Sunday before the election, and I’m still feeling pretty good that I’m going to be $200 richer on Wednesday morning.
Before I go on, let me be clear: I will not be voting for you on Tuesday. I imagine that this doesn’t bother you very much. But I just wanted to make sure that was stated before I go into what is going to sound strange from a gun-sense legislation supporting, Pro-Choice Democrat such as myself.
I am really grateful for your candidacy.
From the beginning, you represented a caricature to me. A side show. You were Borat, playing to the lowest common denominator of our society. A teeny, weeny, crazy percentage. I have to admit, it was fun for awhile. Until became not fun.
Because of you, I have a new understanding of the depth of the misogyny in our country. I understand, or at least am beginning to understand, the deep roots of our racism, our nationalism. I’m thirty-eight years old, a product of a happy, suburban childhood, and I’d never seen it with such clarity before. Because of you, I’m starting to get it. I know now that it is upon me to do something about it; to teach my children to be a part of the solution.
Thank you for making me have hard conversations with my friends and family. I’m not one of those people who won’t talk politics or religion (what, then, are we talking about, if we refuse to talk about these fundamentally important things?). Your candidacy has made me see the values of my acquaintances, values I might not have known they had. In some ways, it’s been heartening, and in other ways, it’s been disappointing. But it’s been true, and it isn’t until we have truthful conversations that we move forward.
Don’t think for a minute that I am an across the board apologist for Hillary Clinton. Far from it. I’m grateful to Mrs. Clinton, too, but in a different way. She’s made me realize the humanity of our politicians. That, no matter how hard we try, we will simply not find a perfect President. That the people surrounding a candidate are just as important as they are. That we are only as honorable as the actions we take, the apologies we ask for when we transgress.
No matter what happens Tuesday, I’m under no delusions that anything will be “over” after this election. And finally, for that knowledge, I’m also grateful to you. Anyone else, and I might be one of those people saying, “I can’t wait for this election to be over!”. But it’s you, and all you have represented, and well, I think that the one thing you and I can both agree on is that our work is far from done once our next President is in office.
And it is “our” work, isn’t it? Well, maybe not yours. But mine. And every other voter, every other citizen, every other mother who has been horrified into action by your candidacy.
Respectfully,
Me