Hop Dad

What My Daughter Can See

January 20, 2021 at 12:30 pm 3 comments

Earlier in this school year my daughter threw her hat in the ring for president of her 6th grade class. She ended up in second place, making her Vice President, and she was thrilled.

Fast forward a couple of months to the results of the 2020 election. When the Biden/Harris ticket came out the winner I let my daughter know who Kamala Harris was, and that Harris was going to become the first female Vice President of our nation, a vice president just like her. Her eyes widened and she jumped in the air in celebration, immediately feeling a kind of connection I will never feel because, until today, every person who has held that position has looked like me.

When observing moments like this, the “firsts” for American women, I waver between wanting to show my daughter what women have fought for to get where they are now at the risk of depressing her with endless stories of struggle, or projecting the idea that girls can do anything they want in a vain attempt at acting as if our country is more progressive than it really is. I know the former is the best option because it contains the hard truths we need to acknowledge, understand, and accept if we are to move our country forward.

Once the inauguration occurs and press conferences become sane and watchable again, eyes will be on Harris. Her role as Vice President comes with the extra burden of being a tie-breaking vote in the Senate. Considering the polarization that infects our politics these days, she will be in the spotlight more than most who have been in that position, at least for the next two years. She will undoubtedly face additional scrutiny from many of the entrenched in Congress, the kind of derision and outright abuse Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and other women continue to experience; an unwarranted, petulant surveillance from the old world of outdated yet still staunchly defended ideals, that does nothing but hurt all of the daughters of our country.

Having Kamala Harris as our next Vice President is a giant leap forward in representation for America’s population of young girls with ambition. My daughter’s reaction to knowing there is girl as Vice President of America now, another girl Vice President just like she is, was a moment to build on.

Take her single, ten-second moment of celebration and multiply it by the number of other young girls across America who feel a little more empowered today. We need to use this moment and all of that energy to show our daughters what became possible in our nation, give them encouragement to participate on our grand political stage, and get out of their way.

Vice President Kamala Harris, I wish you all the best.

Entry filed under: Being Dad, General. Tags: Being Dad, Family, Fatherhood, Kids, Motherhood, Parenting.