Photo by Gage Skidmore/CC BY-SA2.0
Every segment of our society who wanted to see Hillary Clinton win the White House is dealing with shock, pain and fear while trying to absorb our new reality. As a woman who watched the one woman we thought could break the barrier to holding the highest elected office in our country lose this election, I can say the pain is deep. Yes, Hillary, it does hurt. Why did I get choked up in the middle of an unrelated phone conversation the day after the election? Because the loss created a deep visceral pain for many of us women, the kind that comes from seeing a genuine beacon of hope for a more equal society abruptly crushed.
We are on the precipice of becoming a country of punctuated extremes. This is not just about the rich and the poor. This is about who will stand up for the rights and fight against the wrongs of both extremes and those in the middle. The answer to that question is not a comforting one now.
As millions of women in this country continue to face the daily inequities of being a woman in the workforce, the realization that our country was close to electing its first woman president became highly symbolic. And highly charged.
We have waited since our country's founding days to have a woman serve as president of the United States. I don't know how it would feel if there had been multiple female presidents preceding Clinton's stunning loss. But there never has been a woman who held the job, and never is a big word. Never means you're blocked from achieving goals and dreams because of your gender. Never sends a strong signal to women of all generations that the door remains closed. Never is the antithesis of what we want.
Hillary's final words closing out her role in the 2016 election spoke to the reality of today:
"Now, I know we have still not shattered that highest and hardest glass ceiling, but someday someone will — and hopefully sooner than we might think right now. And to all of the little girls who are watching this, never doubt that you are valuable and powerful and deserving of every chance and opportunity in the world to pursue and achieve your own dreams."
It was hearing her say, "someday" that struck a powerful cord. Someday sounds ominously far away. Especially when so many of us thought someday would be today.