So Hillary has suspended her campaign. In two weeks, a week, we will have moved on - there's no room for nostalgia in the day's headlines. But today I mourn. Her campaign was flawed - one could argue that she found her voice only near the end. But she persisted, withstanding more abuse - from the press, from the (white middle-aged) man in the street - than we saw with any other candidate.
One shouldn't get involved in politics if one can't withstand defeat. That's what I said to my neighbors a month or so ago, back when I was still speaking to them. Back before he (white, retired, a self-described lifelong son of the left) sent the email calling Hillary a bitch.
I haven't known what to do with the email or the friendship. No one would call Obama a nigger or Bloomberg a kike (I can barely bring myself to key in those nouns). So why is it ok to call Hillary a bitch? And why would my erstwhile friend send that email to me, knowing I support Hillary?
Neighborhood politics is not for the fainthearted.
But let's close with Hillary:
Now, being human, we are imperfect. That's why we need each other, to catch each other when we falter, to encourage each other when we lose heart. Some may lead, some may follow, but none of us can go it alone.
The changes we're working for are changes that we can only accomplish together. Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness are rights that belong to us as individuals. But our lives, our freedom, our happiness are best enjoyed, best protected, and best advanced when we do work together.
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