Listen to Her: What Happened
A review, a plea, and the confession of a Bernie supporter turned Hillary fan
I decided to forego getting the hardback book. I wanted to hear the former presidential candidate speak. I had been an early hopeful that she’d run, in 2014 when she left office as Secretary of State I waited anxiously for her to announce her bid for president. Then Bernie Sanders came along and I was swept up by the grandiose and hopeful rhetoric of economic justice. I started to see greater flaws in Hillary and still held some resentment that she couldn’t win the election in 2016. I ultimately blamed her. I was wrong.
Hearing Hillary Clinton talk about her perspective on the two year journey that led to November 8th, 2016 and aftermath that we’re living now is by far one of the most cathartic experiences of the past year. This is the woman we never got to know, because the world shouted over her. This is the woman I wasn’t able to see because the world blocked her out and tried to show me another. This is the woman that should be my president.
America will look back on this election and wonder what ever possessed us to make such a foolish choice. She will be viewed by history as the greatest missed opportunity of a generation. Her loss will be seen as a turning point in the American psyche. Her strength to move forward seen as an example of what all should be doing. She is, and sadly will likely remain the greatest president America never had.
She’s not perfect. She’s human. But she’s not what our vile American press has led us to believe she is. She’s not the epitome of the washington elite. She’s not the corrupt capitalist she was made out to be. She’s not a loveless lesbian in a closet relationship, or a weak-willed wife and Godless baby killer. She’s not a feeble sympatico of billionaires, she’s not a murderer, she’s not senile. She’s not a traitor woefully abusing power for financial gain. She’s not careless with our security. She’s not ignorant of the value of human life. She’s not the woman the media would have us believe she is. Those are just some of the lies they repeated in the interest of “news” and clicks and views and advertising dollars. Those are just some of the stories they shared over and over again to bolster their earnings and viewership. Those are just some of the tales they told themselves that they had to convey in the interest of public service.
America, it is your media that has betrayed you, and you let them. America, it is your news, your tv, your newspaper, your internet, your social media, your journalists that have betrayed you and you let them. I let them. We allowed them to sell us a bridge to a salacious story that never existed and we sold our future for it. America, our future is being bought and sold and resold by those who control the voice of the media we unconsciously consume ad nauseum. We lost this election, not because of policies or a divided vision of America or the growing distrust of government — we lost the election because the stories we were told were deceptions. We lost the opportunity to continue to grow because the media allowed us to believe Hillary was one thing and ignored the million other things that he is.
America, we owe ourselves more than this. Hillary Clinton doesn’t ask for our forgiveness, but we owe it to her. We dismantled a hero, exalted a villain, and all because we wanted a savior. There are no saviors in this world, only heros willing to sacrifice themselves for the greater good. She doesn’t mourn her personal defeat, she’s honest about it, but it’s the letting down of those who believed in her that wounds her most. Her concern isn’t selfish or self-serving it’s selfless and giving. She shares her love for this nation, for all Americans, for our future, her reverence for our past, her vision for our future, her hope for our children. She leads with benevolence and a feminine tenderness that America sorely needs. Her words teach us how to love again.
I’m sorry. I was wrong. I’m sorry I got swept up by the myths of corruption. I’m sorry I didn’t see the sexism. I’m sorry I couldn’t see past the mind-numbing ridiculousness of it all. I’m sorry my disagreement with her policies, though minor, ultimately impugned her character. I’m sorry my lack of enthusiasm wounded friendships and dismantled relationships. I’m sorry that despite voting for this compassionate human, I’ll not see her lead this nation as its president, as my president. She’s not perfect, no hero is, she’s just willing to do the work, that’s what a hero does — the work.
So no matter who you voted for America, go listen to What Happened. Listen to her voice as she shares her story and cautions us all in the grandest of humility. Listen to her genuine and heartfelt care. She’s the woman who would have been president had we cared as much about our futures as she does.
