Let me clarify, today my wife took me and our 3 year old daughter with her to vote. We were all excited to cast our, one, ballot – making history, as we voted for the FIRST ever woman on the ballot for President of the United States. Exciting times we’re living in.
I joined my wife as she cast her ballot because I can not vote. I’m not (yet) a citizen of the United States.
YES – I have lived here since 1999, I have attended college here, I have earned my undergrad degree here, numerous professional accounting licenses here, and a Master’s degree here, I’ve lived here and worked here for going on 17 years – BUT I am not a citizen (YET!).
I was asked recently WHY I am ‘voting’ for Hillary, other than she is a woman (which in actuality has very little to do with the decision, it is simply an added bonus), why I so verbally throw all of my support behind her as the candidate that I believe will be the very best person for President for the next four (eight) years. There are a lot of reasons in this election that touch very, very close to home for me, namely;
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Being an immigrant
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Being a female
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Being a lesbian
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Having a daughter
I am an Immigrant – this is a tricky topic. A topic most people have NO idea how it works. Most people have no idea what you go through to be able to live and work here ‘legally’. I have been through numerous immigration lawyers; I have had employers pay large sums of money to pay those lawyers and for filing fee after filing fee, this form and then that form. I have been referred to as an ‘alien’, a ‘legal alien’, I have even received ‘parole’ to leave the country and reenter as an ‘alien’. These are all real words used during this process.
You see, I have a very firm understanding of what it is to go through the immigration process, legally. You see, I have been BLESSED beyond words to have followed the path I have since I came here at barely 19 years old with 2 suitcases and 2 hockey sticks.
What you don’t see is what others go through. Others who don’t ‘look’ American like I do. Others who don’t fit the mold of what you expect Americans to believe and act like. Some of these ‘other’s I refer to also came here legally, be it through refugee status, or however it is their paths in life lead them to the United States.
These hard working, seeking a better life for themselves and their families, individuals, they deserve to be here just as much as you do (I can’t say you and I, because maybe you feel I also don’t ‘belong’ here). The process of immigration is a long and arduous process. While those who come on a refugee status might have an easier path to citizenship then I do, I still would never want to trade places with any of them, because I have never experienced their lives prior to getting here. Their stories are all too often ones of misery and suffering. Experiencing personal loss and pain along the way that most all of us could never fathom and rightfully would never want to.
Of course there is also the other side of the spectrum, those who came to this great country illegally. I agree whole heartedly that you cannot just come to another country and start living and working. There is a process for how things work and there’s a reason for that.
BUT – we are where we are, so now what? Now we have to figure out a way to get these individuals legally working and paying their share of taxes to better the country they’re now living in. The solution is not to mass deport every single illegal immigrant. For one – there’s the cost associated with that, who is going to cover that? Two – families!! Many of these individuals have families here that they’re supporting, families that would be ripped apart by your supposed mass deportation plan. WHO would be responsible for caring for the children born in the United States (and therefore citizens), once you mass deport their parents?
The solution is to create a legal process whereby those living here illegally can pay their fair share and work towards gaining a legal standing. Where these hard working moms, dads, and grandparents, can truly start benefiting the nation they have been living in (for many years in most cases). This solution does NOT create an open border – it doesn’t allow everyone to come here and get legal standing, it’s a means to fix the current problem, the millions of illegals that are already living and working here.
For this reason I will vote (if I could, we get the point here) for Hillary Rodham Clinton.
I am a woman – a proud, strong, well educated woman. A woman who was raised to fully respect myself, to honestly believe I could be anything I wanted to be. For the most part I’ve blazed my own path, I’ve done what my heart desired, often times when it wasn’t the popular thing to do. I played a ‘boys’ game – ice hockey, I spent endless hours in boys locker rooms growing up because I was the ONLY girl playing a game dominated (at the time) by men. While my mother very well thought I was insane for doing so, she never told me I couldn’t do it, that I couldn’t hack it with the guys, neither of my parents ever tried to hold me back. I am so extremely thankful for this – for how they raised me and the values they instilled in me.
For this reason I will vote for Hillary Rodham Clinton. I see no glass ceiling, I refuse to be treated different because I have a p***y, in fact, I embrace the fact that I have one and I’ll raise my daughter with the same principals and values I was taught, except my daughter will grow up in a time when a woman IS president [PENDING ELECTION RESULTS] – not dreaming of being the ‘first lady’, she can be THE LADY!!
I am a lesbian – and while I never chose this, I am so extremely proud of the fact that I am a very vocal, very outspoken, lesbian woman. I am very happily LEGALLY married to the woman of my dreams. I am one mom in an amazing two mom team to our beautiful, strong willed, extremely independent 3 year old daughter.
While we currently have all the legal rights and federal protections to call ourselves a family, we realize that this is NOT a given, when Gradie was born we had NONE of those rights. While we believe it to be a basic human right, there is a large part of the population who believe it is up to them who I love, how I love them, and what rights we have over our finances, medical decisions, and our offspring, to name a few. For this reason I will vote for Hillary Rodham Clinton. My family, my dignity, my basic human rights, DEPEND ON IT.
I have a daughter – a little girl who will grow up to be a teenager, a young lady and before I know it a full blown adult. While I hope that she will never consider the dreaded “A” word, one never knows what the future holds. While I hope she never considers it, I wholeheartedly believe that that is a decision that only she can make!! This is not a decision to be left in the hands of old white men, who know NOTHING of what it is to be a woman. No idea what it is to be destitute and need medical care, the care only available for free from Planned Parenthood.
When I was growing up I remember a song we learned in grade school; “My body’s no body’s body but mine.” I can’t tell you why it is this song stuck with me, but it’s meaning today is so very true. My body, my wife’s body, my daughter’s body, are all OUR OWN BODY’S and no one has a right to make any decisions for it.
For this reason, because I believe Roe vs. Wade MUST stand, I will vote for Hillary Rodham Clinton. My body’s right’s depend on it.
Jeanna Mcloughlin says
Love you!
Debbie says
I love you more!!!