To Hillary,
Your nomination and campaign broke one of many glass ceilings. You broke it with women and men cheering you on as we watched you make history. We watched you accept the nomination with tears in our eyes knowing how big of a moment it was. I can still hear your voice as you accepted the nomination with a smile on your face and a twinkle in your eye.
The campaigning process was anything but easy for you. You have your faults, as every person does, and many were more than happy to exploit them. I will admit, I wasn’t your biggest supporter at first, but as I learned more about you, I began to like you more. I grew to believe in you, openly show my support for you, and try to educate those who were undecided or opposed to you. I became proud of you and proud of the example you were setting for women everywhere with your candidacy. There is no such thing as a perfect candidate, but there is such a thing as a qualified one, and you had experience galore.
I watched you in debates against a man who many quite accurately called a demagogue. You combatted his sexism with poise and calmness. You didn’t allow yourself to be talked over and you ignored his attempts to rattle you. I was in awe. As a woman, I’ve had to combat misogyny but don’t believe I’ve ever done so with the grace you possessed while on stage with Donald Trump. I get flustered, agitated, and angry – you were calm and collected. It served as an example for women everywhere to never back down, to speak up, and to hold strong. Thank you for holding strong.
America watched as your womanhood shaped how people responded to you. We watched some rally for you and others rally against you. We watched you temper your feelings, as to not appear too emotional, and strategically plan your outfit as to appear strong but not masculine. You had to walk a fine, exhausting, and sexist line but you did so with little complaint. Comments were made about the tone of your voice, your hair, and the way you dressed. I heard countless arguments for why people didn’t like you, many with misogynistic undertones. When pushed further they insisted they respected women, and maybe that is true, but I have a hard time believing it. Women everywhere watched the sexism we experience everyday play out on national television and said “Finally, America will see. This is how it is for women.” It appears that maybe we were wrong.
Many watched with baited breath as the votes were counted. Hearts were broken, disbelief rattled our minds, and tears were shed. You are qualified, poised, articulate, and deserved much better. I am so sorry. Though my heart aches for you, I still hope you can find pride in what you have accomplished not only in in the past year and a half but in your entire political career. You ran a historic campaign as the first female nominated for President by the Democratic Party. You combated misogyny in a way that will serve as an example to many women and men across the world. You gave many women a hope that they didn’t have before, and I thank you for that.
You may have shattered one glass ceiling with your nomination, but your campaign cracked another. You raised your fist high, in triumph and loss, and cracked the ceiling that says women can’t be president of the United States. That crack will allow hope to permeate throughout the minds of many women, and men alike and inspire a new generation of female politicians. Though you were not able to rise above that glass, I know that your dent in it will help the next woman, and the many to come after. When we do finally elect our first female president, it will be in large part thanks to you.
We are stronger together, and I’m still with you.
With Love,
Casey