By Liza Ahmed
My support for progressive issues are boundless; I am pro-choice, pro-equality, pro-black lives matter, I’m in support of free college tuition, free head start programs, and I am a fierce self-declared feminist. So why am I opposed to the presidential nominee for the party that champions these causes? If you had asked me a few weeks ago, I would give you the same vague answers that dictate the narrative for most people who are posed this same question: she’s untrustworthy, and to be frank there’s just “something” about her I just don’t like.
We as voters have the right to support who we see fit to lead our country, whether that be Hillary Clinton or another candidate. We also have the responsibility as voters to check our prejudices and biases in order to not perpetuate a cycle of misinformation and anti-intellectualism. I can truthfully say, my initial feelings had no conjecture in reality because it was my own misogyny that was a driving force in my unease with her candidacy. My own biases raised questions regarding her integrity, her trustworthiness, and her motivation to want to be president. I understand and accept that these are all valid concerns for any leader, especially as we forge on in a world where diplomacy and integrity are key. However, I had no concise reasons for my feelings.
Years of being indoctrinated have led me to believe that women in positions of power are weaker than men; that women are stronger as supporters. I am so accustomed to men being in power that the thought of a women taking his place makes me question what drives her. It is even my own fallacy that has me believing that women are to be held at a higher moral standard than men. I believe this to be true because I support Barack Obama and believe that he will be considered one of the greatest presidents in our history. He has, however, sanctioned drone strikes on civilian populations that have led to hundreds of innocent casualties. Is my own unease over Hillary Clinton’s assumed untrustworthiness greater than my discomfort with the murder of innocent civilians at the hands of our government? My implicit response is a resounding no, but words and actions say otherwise. Clinton is always asked to be softer, to be more feminine, less shrill, less commanding, more nurturing. We are always asking her to be less so she can be more likable to us because strength and command puts us off when it is in the form of a female body.
After coming to terms with the fallacy in my thought process, I actively sought more information on Hillary Clinton in order to become more informed. In the process I have learned that while she is a flawed person and an imperfect candidate, she is an extremely intelligent and capable leader. Her use of her private email server to communicate as Secretary of State, although not found to be illegal, seemed to display an arrogance inflated enough to defy protocols which are instituted to ensure classified information cannot be accessed by hostile actors. Although Clinton acted with impunity regarding her handling of classified information in her role of Secretary of State, I do not believe that alone disqualifies her as a viable candidate for President. For me, Clinton’s issue is the company that she keeps. In addition to her very secret and extremely lucrative speeches at Goldman Sachs events, she also receives large donations from figures such as Haim Saban, a self-declared “one issue guy”; his issue is Israel. Hillary Super PAC’s have received over $5 million dollars alone from Saban, which under Citizens United is entirely legal. While I cannot argue its legality, no court in this land can convince me that this does not create a political climate ripe with corruption. In her correspondence with Saban, Clinton laments her unwavering and unconditional support of Israel to act with impunity despite condemnation from international organizations such as the United Nations Human Rights Council.
Despite this, she is nonetheless in stark contrast to her opponent by displaying diplomacy and coherence. Ms. Clinton urges common sense gun laws, reformation of an antiquated immigration system, an updated tax code which does not favor large corporations, and champions her party platform by continuing support for safe access to abortions in the face of Republican obstructionist legislation. Despite concurrency in my beliefs and some of her policy, I still lack the ability to fully commit myself to unequivocally supporting Hillary Clinton’s candidacy for President, but now I can provide real reasons for my decision.
My feminism is ill with patriarchal, misogynistic expectations and the only way I know to combat it is by committing myself to education and self-awareness.
