Women worldwide love Joe Biden’s “audacious” choice of Kamala Harris as his running mate and now his Vice-President Elect. Joe Biden has his heart in the right place. He knows that in order to eradicate systemic racism in the US, it’s not enough to pay lip service to an ideal. “Actions speak louder than words.”
He’s not afraid of people – immigrants, single parents, people of colour, and the disenfranchised. Kamala’s parents divorced when she was seven years old and her mother raised her and her sister as a single parent. Her parents were from India and Jamaica respectively and were international students to the United States when they met. They later got immigrant status. President-elect Biden didn’t see her early status as a barrier. “Democrats believe in reigniting the American dream by removing barriers to success and building ladders of opportunity for all, so everyone can succeed. ~ Nancy Pelosi
Joe Biden was Vice-President to President Barack Obama, the first black President of the United States. The two men became like brothers. President Obama gave his Vice-President the Presidential Medal of Freedom as a surprise before leaving office. On that auspicious occasion, this is what President Obama said: “To know Joe Biden is to know love without pretense, service without self-regard, and to live fully.”
Leadership calls for transparency, honesty, and a desire to serve. I see these qualities in both the President-elect and Vice-President elect. Bringing people together rather than sowing seeds of distrust was obvious in Biden’s speech when he reached 270 electoral college votes. He doesn’t want the harsh rhetoric to go on. “I pledge to be a president who seeks not to divide but unify. who doesn’t see red states and blue states, only sees the United States.” What a welcome change for the world to hear these words.
For too many years, the world has heard and witnessed unnecessary drama, indifference to others and too many instances of the corrosion of what we thought were American values. The Vice-President elect also spoke words that reflected what many watchers world-wide felt. She said: “You assured a new day for America. You chose hope and unity, decency, science, and yes, truth.
Obviously, we don’t expect that there will be no mistakes made by our leaders. Just as all human beings miss the mark, we know that on occasion we can expect this from those at the top. However, it’s my belief that should these occasions arise, we will see a different way of handling the issues. Leaders have to be able to apologize, change course, make compromises, and carry on. “Doing what is right isn’t the problem. It is knowing what is right.” ~ Lyndon B Johnson
Although I’m not from the United States, I feel excitedabout seeing a woman become Vice-President there. Furthermore, an educated woman of colour, holding this position bodes well for other women who have felt that their chances at leadership were slim. For the rest of us who have no such aspirations, it’s still good to see one of our own women-folk at the top. We can all be proud. A new day has indeed dawned! “One’s philosophy is not best expressed in words; it is expressed in the choices one makes—and the choices we make are ultimately our responsibility.” ~ Eleanor Roosevelt
Thanks, President-elect Joe Biden.
