At dinner the other night a young woman I love said she and her friends didn't like Hillary for President. They'd vote for her over Trump but they'd much prefer Bernie. Why?
They want to foster the revolution. Bernie's their guy.
They don't "like" Hillary. She's too corporate owned, she's too cold, she's too stiff, she's not trustworthy, she flaunts her knowledge, she's a politician.
Since I love this young woman, the child of one of my closest friends, I didn't leap the table and hit her upside the head. Plus, I respect Bernie and his policies, but revolution? Why are smart young women missing what's really happening here?
Hillary is the revolution.
Our country was born in 1776. Probably the only birth in history for which women get no credit. Nor did they get a vote. It wasn't until 96 years later in 1920 when the 19th Amendment was ratified, assuring women the right to vote.
Then it took another 52 years for a woman to run for a major party's nomination for President of the United States. Shirley Chisholm was the first African American woman elected to Congress and in 1972 she was the first woman to vie for the nomination of the Democratic party. She didn't make it, so still no woman on a ticket.
Twelve years after that, Geraldine Ferraro became the first woman to secure a spot on the ticket of a major party. Walter Mondale, the top of the Democratic ticket chose Ferraro as his vice-presidential running mate in 1984. They lost.
Many of us thought the long run of white men at the top and the bottom of each party's ticket was over after 1984. Nope. Not to be. The next woman on a ticket was Sarah Palin on John McCain's ticket in 2008. You know how that worked out for women, or for all of America for that matter.
That brings us to now, 2016. Our country, supposedly one of the most progressive in the world, has lived 240 years without choosing a woman leader.
It's not just that we need a woman to lead us. We need a strong woman, a tough woman, a smart woman, a woman who knows America from its corporate entities to its moral conscience, from inside the government to inside its homes, from the world's view of us to the view we have of the world. We need a woman who knows how the game is played, how the rules need to be followed and sometimes broken.
Hillary Clinton will top the Democratic ticket. She's not just a woman. She's a woman who has chosen to spend most of her life serving her country. She's paid her dues in blood, sweat, hard work, and yes, even the occasional tear. She earned the right to be where she is.
And young women, pay attention. You say you want a revolution? The wait is over. Be on the right side of history. Embrace Hillary, you owe it to 240 years of women and men who worked and fought and marched and voted to bring us to this point.
Hillary is the revolution, 240 years in the making. Make no mistake about it, the revolution is here and it will be televised. Tune in. You're going to witness history in the making.