Women

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Today is the 88th anniversary of women getting the right to vote. This is sweet for me, not just because I have suffrage, but because my grandmother was arrested twice, standing up for my right, and that of all women, to vote.

And on this historic occasion, Hillary Clinton will rise to the podium tonight and make a speech. Hillary Clinton has been as much of a fighter as my grandmother ever was. Albeit, she has progressed in the field of politics in ways my grandmother never could have imagined. When I spoke to my grandmother about becoming a doctor when I grew up, she got that smile of hers meaning "I'd never crush a dream, but girls can't be doctors." Had she lived long enough, she would have been so very proud to see me get that diploma.

Hillary Clinton (and all of us who have broken barriers, and have been foot soldiers in the march towards equality FOR ALL) has accomplished much. So far. She has worked tirelessly for decades on the positions that Democrats hold so dear.

And now, tonight, much of her work, and her legacy, hangs on what she says, and how she says it.

She can get up on the stage and speak of causes: how important they are, and how we as Democrats have been working forever to advance equality, and justice, and rights. She can talk about how important it is for our party to reclaim our country: our Constitution, our Civil Rights and our Human Rights.

Or, she can make the speech about herself.

The question will be if her speech works towards the unity of the party, and the necessity of winning the White House and the down-ticket races in November. Or not.

What Hillary Clinton says tonight will forever mark her legacy as either someone who did all she could, then lost the primary race, but remained true to her ideals, her party and her work -OR- someone who does not accept defeat.

Equality does not mean getting ahead because of your gender (or in other cases, your race, your religion, or your sexual orientation) it means you have an equal opportunity. And then, as in every aspect of life, there are winners and losers.

For a lot of us, we must make the choice of what we are first. Am I a woman doctor? Or am I a doctor who just happens to be a woman? For me, the choice is the second: I am what I am irrespective of my gender. I want my work, my accomplishments, and all that I do, to be judged by its worth: not because of my gender. I hope that Hillary Clinton will chose the same ideology.