What we owe Hillary Clinton as millennial women
Many of us are mourning. Mourning for our country, mourning for our generation, mourning for what we believed were essential American values. But as I wept watching Hillary give her concession speech last week, I realized that — although this is a dark time for America — it is also an inspiring one.
Hillary stood there with the utmost poise, strength, and grace as the rest of us cried ugly tears for what could have -- and many of us believe -- should have been.
But Hillary’s speech not only made me sad and angry, it also instilled in me an intense sense of determination to change the course of our country.
This election was different. We all knew that.
I have voted in every election since I was 18 years old. But this election, it sparked a fire in me I never knew was there.
I was a Hillary supporter from the beginning of this campaign. I always believed that she was the remedy that this broken country needed. I read numerous articles, listened to podcasts, watched shows, and researched Hillary. With every single thing I learned, I felt more and more proud that she was my candidate and was representing me.
As I write this, I weep for what America has lost by not electing the first female president who I believe would have brought people together, who would have proven that she is the most prepared, knowledgeable, hard-working person for the office. Hillary would have shown the world that women are just as good at the job as men.
Why did we not educate ourselves on the two candidates to learn about their beliefs, their interests, and their policies? Instead, we read Facebook feeds, tweets, and headlines — but did not dig further. It is our duty as Americans to do the research, to figure out who represents our values and the future we want for our country. We should not expect the media to spoon feed it to us.
I feel like we failed Hillary -- and now it is time for us to show her how grateful we are for everything she has done for us.
As millennials, we are adept at sharing Facebook statuses that express our beliefs, posting Instagram selfies with our “I voted” stickers, and using hashtags to show our support. Now that the election results are in, we cannot return to our daily lives and move on — not this time.
As Hillary said, sometimes we have setbacks, really painful ones, but we need to continue fighting. We must continue to make our voices heard, and work every single day until that happens. This is going to be a very difficult battle, but it is still one we can win and we must win.
Hillary’s life is a supreme example of that.
Hillary has suffered decades of abuse, bullying, and criticism -- but she stood up to that every single time, never showing an ounce of defeat. Hillary has endured so much, and she did it for us. It is now our turn to return the favor.
POC's and women have suffered the worst this country has to offer, we overcame then, we will today, we will tomorrow. #stillwithher gnight
— Denée Benton (@DeneeBenton) November 9, 2016
We have to show Hillary that all of this wasn’t for naught.
Not only do we appreciate the giant leaps she made for women and the cracks she put in that glass ceiling -- making it thinner and, hopefully, easier to break very soon -- but we will continue her work.
She spent her life fighting for us and our rights, showing the male establishment that women’s rights are human rights.
Now it is our time to wipe away the tears and to get to work, to show her that we did not take her 30 years of service for granted. We did not take her strength in the face of the worst and most disgusting criticisms for granted. We did not take the fact that she took on this challenge for all women past, present, and future for granted.
We must do our part — whether that is donating to or volunteering for organizations that protect women’s rights, civil rights, people of color’s rights, LGBT rights, the environment, etc., and/or taking to the streets to protest.
This is a movement. It is our turn to fight for what we believe and what we want this country to be. Hillary laid the path for us, now we must follow it and build upon it. If we have learned anything from Hillary, it is that the work never stops and it takes strong, determined women to move this country forward.
So let’s show Hillary that, although she didn’t become the first female president of the United States, she will forever be a part of our history as a nation. She inspired the next generation of suffragettes, activists, and nasty women who will continue the fight until that ultimate glass ceiling is broken.
Let’s get to work, millennial women. And thank you, Hillary.
Madison Randall is a creative executive at a digital media studio in Los Angeles where she creates, develops, and produces content for various platforms across the internet. But when she isn’t brainstorming new show ideas, she is either thinking about politics, food, or regretting watching the latest episode of “Real Housewives.”
