screen-shot-2016-11-08-at-1-34-47-pm

This morning, I proudly cast my vote for Hillary Clinton. Even better? My six-year-old daughter accompanied me to the voting booth. Mazzy also cast a ballot for Hillary at her school election. She is fiercely Pro-Clinton. Because she is a woman (yay, girl power), because she thinks Trump is a “mean man” (she didn’t hear it from me) and because I have taught her that Hillary had to work ten times harder to get to this point, which makes her stronger, more qualified and more inspiring than many of the presidents who have come before her. That’s the truth.

Whatever you think of Hillary, you cannot argue with her strength and tenacity. Her ability to stay focused and on point even when everyone has tried to derail her.

Whatever you think Hillary has done, she is an awesome role model for our girls. For our boys too. She is not just a woman who has made it to the top but a mother and a grandmother who has crashed every glass ceiling imaginable.

There is no question that to a child, a female president is sure to make an impression. Just like growing up with a black president did. Neither of which I honestly thought would happen in my lifetime and yet our children will never know a time when that seemed impossible.

At Mazzy’s school, they have a wall of “Changemakers” which includes Obama and Ghandi, that they will be adding to throughout the year. Yesterday, Mazzy came home from school and told me something very important.

“Mom, if Hillary Clinton wins the election, do you know what will happen?”

“What will happen?”

There was pride in her eyes when she told me. This was a big deal. “She will be added to our Changemakers Wall at school.”

I seriously almost cried when I saw how much that meant to her. I’m about to cry writing it down even now.

When we got to school this morning, after we had voted, Mazzy had the choice of sitting down at one of many activity tables. She chose the table with paints and made the picture below unprompted. This is a girl who usually draws hearts and rainbows. My six-year-old knows this election is more than voting for our next president. She recognizes that history is being made and feels like she is a part of that. This morning she felt pride for her country.

img_6869

I have been increasingly public about my support for Hillary Rodham Clinton and although my readers have largely cheered me on, there have been quite a few detractors. Some of them give reasoned arguments for their opposition (which I respectfully disagree with) and some of them are downright vicious. I don’t think those people understand how much being vicious plays into the very reasons Hillary fans are so steadfast in their support.

There are two arguments I really hate. The first is that as a parenting blogger, I have no business talking about the election or politics on my platforms. People come to my facebook page or my blog or my Instagram for lighthearted kid-focused content and talking politics is tacky and out of place. These people announce they are going to retaliate by “unfollowing” as if that is a huge threat.

Listen to me. I can talk about whatever I choose. Nobody can put my blog in a box because it is my life and anything that is important to me is something I should not feel afraid to write about. I spent years avoiding topics because I didn’t want to be controversial, but why? Because I didn’t want to lose followers? Six years ago, I remember removing a Facebook status update because a fight broke out in the comments over same-sex marriage. It made me uncomfortable to have negativity on my page and so I deleted it. How cowardly is that? Since then, I have made it a point to make certain opinions known. I don’t believe same-sex marriage should be a political debate. I believe support of gay marriage is just being human and decent. And if I lose followers who think differently? That’s okay with me.

The presidential election is relevant to everybody and all topics. The outcome of the election will effect mothers, fathers, children and every one of my readers, whether they live in the United States or otherwise, and everyone has the freedom to discuss it. It is relevant in particular to a “mommy blogger,” because one candidate is undeniably hateful towards women, who make up the large majority of my readers. As a “mommy,” I care about things like equal pay, maternity and paternity policies, upholding Roe v. Wade and my daughters’ ability to walk down the street without being objectified and demeaned. I was someone who got laid off from my job shortly after my maternity leave with my first child. That is the entire reason I started this blog. For mothers of boys, I believe it’s important for your sons to have an example of manhood that does not involve the dangerous combination of entitlement and aggression.

The other popular thing to say when I profess my support of Hillary is that I am voting for her purely because she is a woman. Have we all forgotten Sarah Palin? What liberals lined up to vote for her? Did you see feminists holding up “I’m with Sarah” signs? No, you did not because we did not think she was qualified or agree with her policies.

I know for the most part I am preaching to the choir, but since many people asked how and why I could possibly vote for someone like Hillary Clinton, I will be very specific.

I believe in stricter gun control laws, freedom of religion, equal pay for women, raising the minimum wage, a woman’s right to make decisions about her own body, closing tax loopholes for the wealthy, same-sex marriage, fixing Obamacare but not taking it away, making college affordable, reforming our criminal justice system, protecting our environment, giving undocumented immigrants a path to legal status and that our country should celebrate our diversity instead of fearing it. I also watched the debates and saw a woman who delivered clear, well-thought-out messages about her positions on policy while her opponent acted like a pig and a buffoon who said nothing of substance. I was in awe of her during those debates because I have experienced that same kind of bullying in the work force and was not strong enough to stand my ground like she did. I did not see long hair and lipstick and go goo-goo eyed at the prospect of a female president. I listened, I agreed and I admired. I also think Obama will go down in history as a great president and want our next president to continue what he started instead of invalidating everything he has accomplished. I think Obama and Clinton stand for progress and have respect internationally while a Trump presidency makes me fear for both my rights within this country and for how it reflects America’s values to the rest of the world.

I’m not saying that everything Hillary Clinton has done in her political career is clean and simple, but I also believe that her intentions are good, her intellect is far beyond most (definitely beyond mine) and her perseverance is unprecedented.

I believe that Hillary Clinton would not get nearly as much vitriol if she were not a woman, which makes me want to fight for her even harder.

I believe that Hillary Clinton will make a great president and the collective opinion of her will only improve once she is elected. After all, it has been proven that the public very much likes Hillary when she is in office. They just don’t like her when she tries to ascend to a higher office.

Luckily for her, this is the last rung left to climb.

———————————–

You can continue to follow me and my family on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.