BREAKING GLASS CEILINGS WITH PINKY PROMISES

A series of essays....

ELIZABETH WARREN AND YOUNG FRIEND SWEARING
TO BALANCE THE SCALES OF THE FUTURE

        Courtesy of Twitter

....as seen through my eyes!

By: Jacqueline E Hughes

“Do things to take care of yourselves, gather up your energy, because I know you are coming back. I know you — and I know that you aren’t ready to leave this fight. Our work continues, the fight goes on, and big dreams never die.” — Senator Elizabeth Warren, March 5, 2020

Sitting there on Tuesday morning in voting Precinct No. 25, surrounded by short, plastic walls made to protect my privacy, my personal space, and contemplating the large piece of paper before me, I felt cheated. This time, as opposed to November of 2016, I felt sad and deprived of being able to darken the little bubble adjacent to her name. My spirit was broken. I was a little girl once again being told that my older brother was the ‘golden boy’ and I’d better get used to being just a -- girl. 

Of course, the appropriate bubble was darkened, my next choice for president, and the pen replaced on the little table supporting my three-sided cocoon. This was not the first time we felt demeaned for being women and, I knew, it would not be the last. 

PROUD TO HAVE JUST VOTED

This lady is the real deal and there isn’t a single emotion she doesn’t understand and cover within her plans to make this nation a better place. Through healing, strengthening, and being as capable as any person I know, Elizabeth is unwavering. And, she trusts that her supporters will do the right thing and turn Washington D.C. blue in November.

That alone, overturning 45’s regime, bounced back at me when making my final decision on Tuesday. By the time we walked out of our precinct in Kalamazoo, Michigan, a feeling of kindness and hope washed over me along with the bountiful spirit of Elizabeth Warren herself. 

She writes that she knows we’ll be coming back and that none of us are ready to leave this fight — how could we? There’s too much at stake to be lost and forgotten about: Health care, the manipulation of Wall Street, canceling student loan debt, universal child care, consumer financial protection, creating a wealth tax (only 2 percent, sir, just 2 percent), and dealing with the current (orange?) elephant in the room, 45 and all of his minions. She has a plan already established to handle each one of these. Her knowledge and expertise would be too much to ignore. We’ll be hearing a lot from her in the months and years to come!

The true ‘elephant in the room’ right now is gender equality. 

Why must we continue to push aside strong women and their nurturing, insightful ideas in order to accommodate old, white men? This is far more than a political fight; women in every aspect of life and time have been fighting this gritty battle. We only hear about it collectively when the spotlight centers on the media attention of women running for president or women seeking equal pay for the same jobs performed by both women and men. How long will it take to have the scales balance out? 

Sadly, I believe that it can be women themselves who tend to sabotage other women and I’ve written about this before. Whether we believe what men have been telling us all along...that we are inferior creatures, or that women are not strong or capable enough to be good leaders, I continue to be amazed by how many women believe these weak theories and, actually, abide by them. 

I believe that if all women voters truly saw females in positions of leadership and decided to persist, dream big, and fight hard, presidential candidates by the names of Amy Klobuchar, Kamala Harris, and Elizabeth Warren would still be in the running; one may even have become the Primary winner! Girl power really isn’t a promise fulfilled unless more and more girls are on the same page together and join the ultimate fight to win. Hence, pinky swearing! We must never allow society to dictate our beliefs and take away our free thinking.

THIS SAYS IT ALL....!

As long as women feel crushed by the intimidation of men, we may never see a good, strong women in the White House. We are all stronger and better than this...and we know it. The day must come when the sheer value of all human beings is recognized and highly appreciated by everyone. Stay tuned for the general fight for gender equality. If there must be a revolution, Mr. Sanders, let it be with gender equality as the winning prize!

We will always acknowledge and appreciate the love and support offered by the strong men out there who have our backs and believe in us, as well.

If we, as women, can recognize the power we own to move ahead and beat all odds stacked against us by the haters and naysayers, then we have a shot at making life better for ourselves, our daughters, and our granddaughters. So, if four-hour selfie lines and hundreds of ‘pinky promises’ made with little girls sounds endearing to you, quite simply, they are. They offer us hope for the future and transfer the love and self esteem we need to move on into a brighter, better world to live in. 

Thank you Senator Warren for everything you have done and continue to do to help us realize the power within each and every one of us.

Note from the author: 

Sending all of you soft elbow bumps and, slightly distant waves, and gifting you the strength to stay calm and carry on....! Even if you are not at high risk yourself, please know we ALL have a health obligation to every soul around us, as well as the moral requirement to prevent the spread of this virus. God bless all of us in the weeks and months to come.

Copyright © 2020 by Jacqueline E Hughes

All rights reserved

BASH TALKS TRASH?

 A series of essays.....

DANA BASH IS CHIEF POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT FOR CNN

.....as seen through my eyes!

By: Jacqueline E. Hughes

I would be remiss, my dear readers, by not pointing out how exceedingly difficult it has been for me not to sully my weekly post with political innuendos, gossip, lies, and half-truths!

Some of my stories may have been innocently (ha hum, clearing my throat) infused with mild opinions and reactions to various political drivel, especially regarding a name I cannot and will not type while utilizing my precious add-on, i-Pad keyboard. I respect my keyboard and, if required, will use the euphemism 'Drumpf' instead.

Fortunately, my story is not directly about Drumpt. I would rather not be a contributor to his devious plan of extracting free media exposure, even on this incredibly minute scale: My blog post! Trust me, I will continue to sleep quite well tonight and on through to the November elections! And, hopefully, beyond.

My story concerns a female journalist (TVNewser) whose employer is CNN, the Cable News Network, owned by the Turner Broadcasting System, a division of Time Warner.

Not long ago, CNN named Dana Bash chief political correspondent, the network's lead journalist covering the Republican presidential candidates, Capitol Hill and elections. Once relegated to the more shadowy corners of the CNN political news stories, Dana has stealthily advanced along the political battlefields before securing her network Purple Heart by fighting in the trenches. After all, she is covering the Republican Party.

It was a particular analogy Dana used several days ago that ultimately roller-coastered me from one emotion to another within seconds. In referencing Elizabeth Warren's endorsement of Hillary Clinton, along with Warren's recent 'tag-a-long approach' designed to mirror Secretary Clinton and intelligently expose Drumpf (sorry, I had to mention him here) for the person he truly is, Dana compared Warren's position to that of Sarah Palin! What in the world was she talking about?

I was crushed! How could anyone dare to say the name of Sarah Palin within the same breath used to mention Senator Elizabeth Warren? And, Dana was comparing these two individuals as if they had any personality traits that could be compared adroitly with in the first place. So, I sat and I listened and.....I learned.

"If you think about it," she said, as I sat staring craters into the flat screen before me, "Elizabeth Warren's self-proclaimed status within the Democratic Party is quite similar to the one Sarah Palin held for the Republicans." Ouch!! "Both women hold similar positions within their parties that are particularly designed to push, pull, and enhance the positive attributes of the nominee they are supporting."

Okay. Perhaps I can calm down a little bit and try to understand all of this.

"In essence, they serve as cheerleaders for their candidate." I think I see where this is going. "And, with loud voices and passionate outcries, they expound the political beliefs of their candidate and encourage the voters to understand why their vote really does matter."

Now, my poor brain was immediately dressing Elizabeth in her preferred color 'blue' replete with "I'm For Her ---->" sewn-on patches, megaphone, and flashy blue and white pom-poms! Somehow, I failed to dress-up Ms. Palin in my mind because I still couldn't forget the black and silver disco 'go-go' outfit she wore while endorsing (you know who) months ago. All I could imagine was each silver tassel swinging wildly across her chest as she shook and quaked with the fervor of an Appalachian minister on a sweltering Saturday night.

I 'got it.' The analogy was not lost on me and what Dana said made sense. Like good little soldiers, whether we agree with it or not, each cheerleader embraces their candidate's ego with open arms and carries their ideals and beliefs on their shoulders like tasseled, velvet epaulets....high ranking and loyal to a fault.

One must ask if this burdensome task was spawned by a true alliance with the values held by their candidate? Or, are sweet treats and political rewards the incentives dangled in front of them like juicy carrots? We will let our conscience be our guide with this one.

Either way, the role of these two 'cheerleaders' is similar. I will admit that. Their style (message)......as different as day and night.

When Warren, with microphone in hand and steel in her eyes, lets loose with frustration, you can feel the years of hard work and passion that she's contributed to the well-being of each and every one of us. She is a force of nature, just like Hillary Clinton herself, and a person that anyone would be proud to have by their side.

Thank you, Dana Bash, for making it real for me. Each side has drive and ambition, however, the packaging and standards can be, and are, entirely different.

Copyright © 2016 by Jacqueline E. Hughes
All rights reserved