Every year, around the holiday season, Oprah Winfrey shares with the public a few of her favorite things. When she had her own talk show, tickets to that show became a coveted event – everyone not only wanted to know what products she would choose but also wanted to receive the products that she gave away to her studio audience. Although I was never lucky enough to attend one of those shows, I watched it every year to get ideas for Christmas gifts for others or myself. To this day, my favorite watch brand is one that I originally saw on one of her Favorite Things shows. Many of us have spent much more time at home during this pandemic. During this past week, I have had to quarantine in my home – something I don’t recommend during election week. However, being stuck in my home and unable to leave has allowed me a new appreciation for a few things. I thought I would share a few of my favorite newsworthy issues.
The end (somewhat) of the election season/commercials – I say somewhat because, at the time of writing this blog we are unfortunately, still awaiting the counting of ballots in a few states, the current President is in court questioning the votes and refusing to concede his loss, and there will be a run-off in Georgia for two Senate seats in January. But even with all of that, I am so happy that during my quarantine, I have not had to watch one more political commercial that seemed to appear and repeat every five minutes. I am also thankful that there has been a decision. Although we knew the results of the Presidential election would likely take days, the ongoing worry and waiting of what was going to happen and how communities would react to the decision was quite stressful. My favorite time watching television during the quarantine was watching how communities across the country went out in the streets to celebrate. I believe the celebrations were not just about who won, but also a kind of freedom and release of the stress of the last four years. I believe people had a sense of relief that the election was over, and we could move forward as a country.
A COVID vaccine is around the corner – I don’t know about you, but I was ready to do a little happy dance upon hearing the news of a potential vaccine for COVID-19 that was showing a 90% efficacy rate. As someone who is currently quarantining because of said virus, my relief is palpable. Although more research must be completed, it looks promising that we will have a vaccine ready for distribution by spring 2021. Logistics of production capacity and storage still need to be worked out, but the thought of soon being able to hug family and friends and sitting at a big table as we break bread together has me almost giddy.
Women (especially women of color) – The glass ceiling has finally been broken. As one meme stated, “Ladies, wear your shoes at all times. There is broken glass everywhere”. For the first time in our country’s history, we have a female Vice President-Elect. Even better, of the top three most powerful positions in the country, two are held by women – Vice President-Elect, Kamala Harris and Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi. Additionally, 32 GOP women will join the next Congress, surpassing the record of 30 Republican women sent in 2006 (Center for American Women and Politics). Missouri elected the state’s first Black congresswoman and Delaware elected the first openly-transgender state senator in the country, as did Vermont. New Mexico has elected all women of color to the U.S. House of Representatives for the first time in the state’s history and in Oklahoma, the first Muslim was elected for the Oklahoma Legislature and is the first nonbinary legislator in America (USA Today). Nonbinary means their gender identity is not strictly male or female. The legislator is also Black and queer. And women of color came out in full force, casting their ballots all over the country. This is all truly exciting news. We have a diverse country and it’s refreshing to see our local and national legislatures beginning to mirror our population. Representation matters and it especially matters to our younger generations. They need to see themselves in all aspects of our democracy.
During my time in quarantine, I have read and watched a lot of political analyses. I know that whether we are conservative or liberal, we all love our country and our families. And we tend to vote based on our own interests. However, if I’m honest, the narrative that I haven’t been able to understand is how such a high percentage of Americans could look at the plight of those in need, yet still vote for their own personal interests. To me, our democracy is about helping our fellow brothers and sisters; we are the people, for the people, by the people. And if we don’t have that, our democracy fails. But what I have also realized is that just because people are voting for things that affect their daily lives, it doesn’t mean they don’t care about others, it just means they have their priorities. They have a different viewpoint. Initially, I was quite upset that the presidential election was so close. I believed there was going to be an overwhelming shift and a referendum of the current president. And for a while, I lost hope for our democracy. But as Martin Luther King, Jr. said, “We must accept finite disappointment, but never lose infinite hope.”
The overarching theme in all three of my favorite issues of the week is a fundamental sense of hope. Hope for the future and hope that we as a country remember the values on which we were founded. I believe all people, at their core, just want to be included and heard. Many believe that not listening to how people are really feeling contributed to us becoming so divided as a country. Others believe it’s due to deep-seated racism that has plagued our country and never truly been addressed. I tend to believe it’s both. I believe our country has taken the first steps toward hope. Hope that the new President will help unite this country. Hope that the new vaccine is as promising as it appears and that we get the pandemic under control before more of our loved ones die. Hope that the new crop of diverse leaders will listen to the people and create a uniting message that resonates and reflects the America we want to be. I feel hopeful for this country’s future.