As the saying goes, what you resist persists. But I’ve always had a problem with that idea. One hand, yes – but not not always. An oncologist doesn’t say to a Stage One cancer patient, “Let’s just not do anything; after all, what you resist persists.”
I’ve seen a lot of things since this campaign began, and a lot of it isn’t pretty. I’ve come to realize that there are indeed forces that would shut down our democracy, in areas that you and I might have thought were pretty safe from assault. I’ve seen the free press abuse its power, I’ve seen a political party try to rig its own primaries, and I’ve seen a system that operates without honor. Resisting those things is right and proper.
There have been hours when I’ve thought, “There’s no way, just give it up.” The message in the ethers couldn’t be louder, “You go home now, little girl.” But something in me has always made it through those hours, to the point where I’m committed to hang in there as long as I possibly can, spending whatever resources I have, because this matters.
I do not believe Joe Biden is a strong candidate in a race against Donald Trump, or against Nikki Haley either. And clearly, many agree. His approval rating is at 37%, and over 70% of Democrats say they’d like to see another choice. The majority of Americans are frustrated at the idea that it’s going to be Trump-Biden again. There is a hunger in this country for something else, something more inspiring, something that leads us out of our national malaise and puts us on a better track.
And I feel that I fit that bill. I’ve had more than a forty year career being very up close and personal with people at some of the hardest times in their lives, and I’ve learned a lot about enduring and transforming states of crisis. Our nation is in crisis now; and the same principles that apply to the journey of an individual apply to the journey of a nation. Why? Because a nation is simply a group of people. We need more than external change in America. We need, as Martin Luther King Jr. said, “qualitative shifts in our souls as well as quantitative changes in our circumstances.” I know about both.
I’ve had a lot of experiences in my life, and that includes quite a bit of time around politicians. I’ve known some wonderful people among them, just as there are wonderful people everywhere. But I will tell you this: there is a Wizard of Oz narrative that needs to dissolve, if this country is to thrive. Our politicians, particularly today, are no different or better or wiser that anyone else; behind that curtain there are simply people, not wizards. The idea that someone has to have been part of some “political class,” with “political experience,” in order to lead this nation is preposterous. The more I have seen, the more I have thought that traditional political experience is more of a hindrance than a help in gaining the wisdom and perspicacity that this country needs now.
I’m plenty experienced, thank you. I’m simply experienced in a different way. We don’t need more political car mechanics in this country, because the problem isn’t mechanical; it’s that we’re on the wrong road. We don’t need another technocrat; we need a visionary. And while I’m not the greatest visionary in the United States, I’m the only one running for the Democratic nomination for President of the United States.
Yes I know that’s outside the box, but what is inside the box is toxic now. And weak. It’s time for a new beginning in America. That’s the antidote to fascism. It’s the antidote to Trump. It’s the antidote to fear.
We can do this. Please help me try.
