This week, Hillary Rodham Clinton crashed through the glass ceiling to become the first ever female candidate from a major political party in the United States of America. I am very proud to be a citizen of the U.S.A.
It was a long time coming, 240 years after the Declaration of Independence was conceived and signed by all thirteen colonies in the Americas. In my opinion, it took too long. But then again, it took too long to abolish slavery, give women the vote, enact civil rights laws, and recently, legalizing same-sex marriage.
In my mind, our country should have started 240 years ago with all of these rights guaranteed to all Americans, citizen or not. The country was founded on the concept of freedom from oppression, free speech, the right to carry arms, freedom from unreasonable search and seizure, and a host of other rights guaranteed by our constitution.
Yet, in my mind, we still have a lot of growing to do. Equal pay for equal work, the right to do with our own bodies without outside interference, be it abortion, smoking weed, or self-euthanasia. Each of these actions does not affect or injure others walking this Earth. Further growth would be accomplished by eradicating the mindset of society that violent crime, terrorism, forcible assertion of one’s beliefs upon another.
I for one will never force my morals or beliefs on someone else. It’s not my place to tell someone what to believe, nor is it someone else’s place to tell me what I should believe. No one, and I mean no one, should suffer atrocities upon their bodies or mind, simply because they are man or woman, gay or straight, religious or not, one nationality or another, liberal, progressive, or conservative, or even indifferent to the suffering of their fellow-man.
You and I may not like it but I will not try to force you to think and believe the way I do. I hope you will do the same for me.
Congratulations Presidential Nominee Hillary Clinton. Here’s hoping that I can one day refer to you as Madam President Hillary Clinton.
Follow Rich on Twitter:
[twitter_follow screen_name=”richverry”]