The Glass Ceiling We Must Shatter in 2016

It would be nearly impossible to live in America today and not know that there is a woman running for the position of President. Indeed, with a campaign slogan that focuses your attention entirely upon her sex (I’m with HER), how could you miss it?

Before we go further, let me be clear on my position. I was born in 1972. My mother and father have long fought against the institutionalized form and gross depredation of sexism. My mother has lost several jobs as a direct result of refusing sexual advances of her male managers and her access to a bank account and college loans was predicated upon her having a parent or husband co-signer. She and my father knew, through personal experience, the harm of sexism. So, how did they respond, when they became parents of a baby girl? They named me March.

My name is androgynous and this was intentional. My parents figured that if no one knew whether I was a man or a woman (when they saw my name on an application) that I would be more likely to live a life based upon who I was, how I thought and what I did. A person-based life, not a sex-based life. In the 1970’s, it was normal for a person sorting applications to toss female applications into the “secretary pile” while male applications would be placed into the “managing position” pile. My name is literally the result of my parents’ feminist leanings, in the hopes that I would be hired for who I was…not my gender.

When we vote for a candidate, we are - in effect - hiring that person for a job. Given this, can you imagine how offensive I find it to see Hillary Clinton using her gender to solicit votes? True feminism means you seek to eliminate the role of gender, not capitalize on it. Far from being a vote for feminism, a vote for Hillary is a vote for a President willing to promote sexism for personal gain.

Across the board, young feminists (be they male or female) are NOT drawn to Hillary’s gender as a reason to vote for her. This is because the feminist movement has, to a very large degree, been a monumental success. All over our country, glass ceilings have exploded into dust. In fact, in most Universities women outnumber men; sometimes nearly two to one. Also, between 1998 and 2014, women in charge of Fortune 500 companies (CEOs) went from one to twenty-  four. What do these (and other) persistent and growing changes prove? That women can do anything as well as a man…and visa versa.

That is, after all, the whole point of feminism, isn’t it? To equalize the sexes? Even the playing field, institute official standards that prevent a slide back into sexism, and ensure that every person is free to excel based on what they think and do…not the body parts they were born with.

A campaign that focuses on one’s gender, on the other hand, is a slide back into the very sexism that feminists have long fought and suffered to overcome. Yes, Hillary Clinton has busted through a political glass ceiling of sorts, but she did it by showing us that a woman is just as capable as a man at being power-hungry, lacking in scruples, opportunistic, misleading, and otherwise entirely machiavellian. Do we really need more proof that a female politician can be just as bad as a male one?

However, there is one glass ceiling that matters greatly in 2016. It is a thick slab of muddy glass, obscuring our view of the puppeteers who manipulate our fair nation for their personal gain. I’m talking about the Global Glass Ceiling of Economic Privilege.

Since the earliest beginnings of our nation, the wealthy (or the puppets of the wealthy) have held a near monopoly on the American government. Never before have we seen a man or woman with such a humble beginning, middle and end…succeeding in government. Bernie Sanders’ lifetime of political service has aligned endlessly with the needs of the Common Men and Women of America; of which he is one. Every temptation, every monied threat, every opportunistic bribe extended to him…has been denied. In doing so, he has triumphed, time and again. When the integrity of our government hangs by a thread, Bernie Sanders is continuing to prove that our system actually can work!

In a very real way, Bernie Sanders’ Campaign represents the culmination of centuries worth of philosophical thinking and the highly-esteemed concept of a society based upon self-governance. Once and for all, America teeters on the brink; ready to fulfill and enact the fullest purpose of its constitution…a government of the people, by the people, and for the people.

We are a nation of diversity. As such, our leaders ought to reflect that diversity, and today…they do not. Let me run through a few numbers, just to drive home the point.
Typical American Earnings:  $53,657
Typical U.S. Senator Earnings:  $190,000

Typical American Average Net Worth:  $301,000
Typical U.S. Senator Average Net Worth:  $14,013,596
(Average # is driven up by wealth of our economic elites…)

Typical American Median Net Worth:  $44,900
Typical U.S. Senator Median Net Worth:  $1,008,767
(Median # is more accurate, as 50% of our citizens have LESS than this amount…)

Over the past ten years, while the median American citizen’s net worth has decreased by -0.94%, a handful of American Citizens (who have the power to control our government and regulatory agencies) have seen a median annual increase to their net worth of +1.55%, equalling a total increase of $316.5 million in assets. [2]

This is why #2016Matters. Sometimes, things have to get “bad enough” for us to wake up, pay attention and respond to a grave threat, right? Well, the monied elite of the world, who seek to prey upon our people and our land, are a grave threat! Who are their greatest allies? The American elite who are willing to sell the rest of us down the river. Hillary Clinton is a member of that dangerous and corrupted society.

Bernie Sanders is one of us and he’s got the political savvy to navigate the treacherous waters of our system with finesse and resolve. Let us join him, as he shatters the Global Glass Ceiling of Economic Privilege! Together, we can open the government to myriad Americans who want nothing more than to devote a portion of their lives in service to their country.

The short game is Bernie Sanders for President.

The middle game is the reclamation of the House of Representatives in 2016 and 2018.
The long game aims to put a solid Middle Class Majority in the Senate along with Diverse Representation throughout local and state levels of government.

The end game will be accomplished when Political Literacy has expanded across the country and a new American Culture of lifelong political engagement has become the norm.

~March Twisdale
#2016Matters