Tag Archives: Kamala Harris

There is no medicine like hope, no incentive so great and no tonic so powerful as expectation of something tomorrow.” O. S. Marden

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Ever since Joe Biden was declared the winner of the 2021 presidential election, the inauguration ceremony had been on my mind.  Even before the January 6 attack on the Capital, it seemed clear that our tomorrows would be very different from our yesterdays.  The ongoing Pandemic would dictate no parade down beautiful Pennsylvania Avenue, no large noisy crowds, and no elegant festive balls.  Would the scaled back events without the usual fanfare make the occasion seem diminished?  Can an inauguration taking place against the backdrop of seven-foot-tall fences and over 20,000-armed National Guard troops feel majestic and stately?

With these questions swirling in my head, I anxiously looked forward to watching the 2021 ceremony more than any in my lifetime.  Add to that the fact that a woman was being sworn in as Vice President, and my anticipation was bubbling over.  While I had blocked out much of my day for watching, my sister is a much earlier riser than I am and was in on the action before the sun was ever up.  She shared her early morning thoughts of Inauguration Day 2021.

It was 4:00am, January 20, 2021.  Robed and fuzzy slippered, hunkered down in my overstuffed chair, mug of hot coffee clutched close to my chest, I began to watch.  Still dark in D.C., yet shadowy folks already bustling about getting ready for history.  Slowly the sun arose behind the dome bathing it in gold.  An unfamiliar feeling somewhere beneath my ribs startled me. I was puzzled as it quietly expanded bumping against my crusty old heart….it seemed to be joy, it seemed to be hope.   I sensed this day was going to be extraordinary.  An hour later former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright was being interviewed. Apparently, she sensed that same emotional bubble and called it “…new hope…” As she spoke the phrase went straight to my heart. Today is new hope.

All my fretting was for naught. From the moment the four hundred lights were turned on surrounding the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting pool on the eve of the January 20, I knew all would be well.  Lady Gaga, Jennifer Lopez and Garth Brooks all added to the proceedings.  Poet Laureate Amanda Gorman took our collective breath away. There appeared to be a relaxed sense of fellowship among the politicians on stage – both Democrat and Republican.  The sense of fellowship was as welcome as all the magnificent fashion on display!  The beautiful, vibrant colors made me rethink my predominately gray wardrobe. It was one of the classiest swearing in ceremonies I have ever seen.  Along with Senator Amy Klobuchar, I hope, “This is the day when our democracy picks itself up…”   

No disrespect to President Biden, but the big moment for me was Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor swearing in Kamala Harris as Vice President.  Making it even more special was knowing that my granddaughters hundreds of miles away were watching.  The Biden Inauguration Team made a free coloring book for kids to help celebrate the occasion.  

Olivia, Emily and Elizabeth sprawled on their living room floor coloring the pages, pausing when their mom directed them to the action on the screen.   When firefighter Andrea Hall led the Pledge of Allegiance, they stood and recited it along with their nation.  When Lady Gaga slayed us with her mixed meter version of the Star-Spangled Banner, three little voices sang along with her.  Children accept/take for granted things that they grow up with.  By the time my granddaughters are voting, hopefully we will no longer feel the need to specify “woman” vice president.

I understand that simply changing administrations is not going to solve our nation’s many problems.  COVID-19, the economy, climate change, immigration and equality aren’t issues that are going to be resolved overnight.  But Joe Biden didn’t become president overnight, it was a long and winding road.  With hope and expectation of something tomorrow, we must look for the light.

C’est la vie.

Women of Consequence

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It seems fitting that the first posting of Women of Consequence should coincide with the inauguration of the first woman Vice President of the United States.  It only took us 232 years!  Love her or not, when Kamala Harris raises her right hand and takes the oath of office, she will cement her place in history as a woman of consequence.  Change is coming, but at a snail’s pace.

Consequence: importance, significance, greatness, magnitude, value, substance.

We are surrounded by women of consequence.  After discovering many of the definitions of “woman” in the Oxford English Dictionary were demeaning, Maria Beatrice Giovanadi started a petition that resulted in Oxford University Press changing its definition and expanding it to include more examples and idiomatic phrases which depict women in a positive and active manner.  Dr. Kizzmedia Corbett, a research fellow at the National Institute of Health, at the age of 34, led the team that discovered the Moderna vaccine.   Every day women play a key role in the health care response to the COVID-19 crisis.  While they are under-represented among physicians, they make up the vast majority of nurses. 

Not all women of consequence will make a published list of extraordinary people, but that does not lessen their importance to someone they impacted along the way.  My sister-in-law Jane was encouraged to attend college by her brother’s girlfriend.  My sister Suzi was bolstered by her Latin teacher, Mrs. Heeter.  I will always remember her telling me, “Mrs. Heeter believed in me.”   The idea that someone believes in you has the power to carry you through many of life’s challenges.

Growing up in small-town Indiana in the 1960s, I lived a sheltered life.  Men were in charge.  Leave it to Beaver and Father Knows Best were must-see TV.  But oh so slowly over the horizon, rose the feminist movement.  A copy of Betty Friedan’s The Feminine Mystique was being passed around among my friends. Gloria Steinem was campaigning for the Equal Rights Amendment and girls were finally allowed to wear pants to school.      

Fortunately, some women of consequence have begun to get recognition.  Movies like Hidden Figures revealed the role of African American female mathematicians and their work on Project Mercury, bringing focus to the critical contributions of black women like Kathryn Johnson to space science. But as a rule, women were grossly under-represented in the history books I studied in high school.  Men’s contributions were well-documented while any recognition of women’s accomplishments was brief.  Even Eleanor Roosevelt was mostly depicted as a caregiver of her husband, rather than focusing on her life as an outstanding political figure, diplomat and activist.   But as we know, most history is written by men.    

I take pleasure in the fact that the times they are a-changin’.  My granddaughters’ and grandsons’ textbooks are not the ones I had in 1970. They will grow up seeing a woman in the White House and I will share with them what I learn while writing these posts. Once a month for the remainder of 2021, I will feature a Woman of Consequence.  Consequence with a capital C.  Women who stepped up and stepped forward without concern for themselves but with real concern for others. Some you may be familiar with, others still in the shadows.   But I hope to do my part to help bring them into the light.  All deserve our gratitude and admiration.           

C’est la vie.

“…I stand on their shoulders.”

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midweek musings…

No matter which side of the aisle we find ourselves on, I hope we can all appreciate that history was made this past weekend.  The United States will FINALLY have a woman in the White House, just a heartbeat away from the presidency.  I was teary eyed when Kamala Harris strode onto the stage in Wilmington, Delaware on November 7, 2020, to give her victory speech.  Wearing all white in a nod to our historic suffragists, the daughter of Jamaican and Indian immigrants, she thanked her country for turning out to vote in record numbers.  She challenged our children to “…Dream with ambition, lead with conviction, and see yourselves in a way that others may not, simply because they’ve never seen it before, but know that we will applaud you every step of the way.”  These are our hopes and dreams for all our children, but especially our daughters and granddaughters. 

Vice-President Elect Harris was not the only woman to make history this election cycle.  More women were elected to Congress than ever before.  Republican Cynthis Lummis was elected the first woman to represent Wyoming in the U.S. Senate.  Missouri elected its first Black congresswoman.  Congress will now have a Korean American woman, a Native American woman and the first openly trans person.  Congress took a giant step towards looking more like the diversity that is America.

After CNN called the election for Joe Biden and Kamala Harris on Saturday, my daughter-in-law looked at my three beautiful, smart, kind, funny granddaughters and told them, “A WOMAN!  A woman, ladies, holds the second highest position in our country!  A WOMAN will be representing our country in the world!  You get to LIVE history, I hope you are proud!”  My granddaughters cheered!   Then they coyly asked, “Can we go to McDonalds?”  Everyone celebrates in their own way…

I’m thrilled my grandchildren are growing up in, in the words of Kamala Harris, “…a country of possibilities.”  On Saturday night, I did a quick, non-scientific poll of some of my friends over the age of 65.  I wanted to know if when they were nine years old (the age of my oldest granddaughter), they ever wondered why a woman wasn’t president.  With the exception of one self-proclaimed rebel, they were right there with me, accepting without question that men run the world.  By the mid-sixties, some of us started to question the status quo, but it truly has been a loooooong process.

So, Kamala, while I toast your accomplishment, I will be watching.  I fully realize you and President Elect Biden face staggering challenges you didn’t create and every decision you make will be scrutinized.  We know you will remember the wisdom of the extraordinary Congressman John Lewis, “Democracy is not a state.  It is an act.”  Don’t let my granddaughters and me down.  We’re counting on you.

C’est la vie.