Diary of an Immigrant mother Living in the United States - Hope is a Beautiful Thing
November 7th 2020
11:45 PM
As the euphoria of the first few hours is slowly settling down and the magnitude of this event, this 2020 Presidential Election result is just beginning to sink in, I’m still teary eyed as I write this…
Yes it’s a sweet victory to finally settle a score with one of the most abominable human beings by Christian standards (and I say Christian because I relate the word Christianity to Compassion & Kindness) and someone who was an absolute disgrace to the highest office of this nation. This day has finally ended a personal chapter in my life that started on election night of Nov 3rd 2016 when I couldn’t decide what hurt me more — Hillary Clinton’s loss to Trump or the deep pain and the tears in my 17 year old daughter’s eyes. We started the painful four year journey together by venting out at the Portland Women’s March on January 21st 2017. I joined local organizations to volunteer so I could do my bit to fix it and she went off to college studying Human Rights, Law & Justice and International Studies. But today I’m not letting Donald Trump eclipse the magnitude of this victory anymore!!!!!!!
This day is truly a reflection of the real America — the modern world — a melting pot of cultures. And it couldn’t come at a better time!
The 46th President of the United States comes from a white working class family and is known for his honesty, his integrity and for his continued fight for those who need help the most — - for the last 48 years to this exact date. No one knows better than Joe Biden what it is like to hurt deeply and yet when duty calls muster the strength to rise up and stand tall with dignity and shine. To care, to love, to be kind & be compassionate.
His Vice President, Madam Kamala Devi Harris, is a WOMAN! The FIRST WOMAN EVER who will now be holding the second highest office of the United States of America.
She’s a BLACK WOMAN, a Woman of Color.
As most of us know by now, she’s also a daughter of two IMMIGRANTS! Her Father is an immigrant from Jamaica & a Black Man whose African forefathers were probably brought to the North American shores by European slave traders. Her Mother was an immigrant from India, a South Asia Brown Woman.
She’ll be a Vice President whose Father is a Christian, whose Mother was a Hindu & her Husband is Jewish.
SHE knows what it’s like to be a woman.
SHE knows what it’s like being a woman of power and to rise above men.
SHE knows what it’s like being an African American living in America.
SHE also knows what it’s like growing up in an immigrant family on American soil, being a second generation immigrant with parents coming from very different cultures and backgrounds.
SHE knows from watching her mother’s struggle, what it is like being a single Mom & raising children alone in America.
SHE knows the importance of Academics — her father was an educator.
SHE knows how important Science is — her mother was a scientist.
SHE knows firsthand about crime and justice — she was the Attorney General of California.
And once more — above all — SHE’S A WOMAN!!! This alone qualifies her historic win for historic celebrations because SHE FINALLY BROKE THE GLASS CEILING!!!! Today, this alone is reason enough to be forever grateful to President Joe Biden no matter how much can a fractured Congress achieve over the next four years. And to be grateful to every person regardless of color or religion or sexual orientation who helped Joe Biden & Kamala Harris win! To John Lewis’s decades of struggle to bring social justice & voting rights to the disenfranchised African American communities including women who are the backbone of this victory and to Stacy Abrams to carry forward his work.
My immense gratitude from the bottom of my heart & my soul & from every fiber of my being to each and every woman who kept trying to break the glass ceiling & didn’t give up. I thank all the women in US to the women like my own grandmother in India and women all over the world for their resilience.
This day has to be dedicated to the women who started & fought the Suffrage Movement 172 years ago and the men who supported them. While other countries including Developed, Developing and Under Developed nations have all elected women to head the highest offices in their countries, one of the most powerful and developed nations in the world and the birthplace of the Suffrage Movement was shamefully lagging behind. It took an astounding 172 years to get to November 7th 2020!!!
Finally, and most importantly, this historic event is an inspiration to every little girl and to every immigrant daughter like mine and brings hope to every immigrant mother like me that in the United States of America anything is possible if you keep trying with sincerity & honesty and never give up!!
Today as I watched with teary eyes the smiles on faces of little girls with their mothers and a doting President Elect Grandpa cradling his baby grandson on the stage, I felt liberated!!
Yes there is work to be done, a pandemic to be fought, hearts to be mended, an economy to be fixed and the fight for racial justice & equality to be won. But tonight is only about soaking in this victory of hard work, of kindness, of love, of resilience and of hope. Indeed someone has rightly said, Hope IS a Beautiful Thing!!
Vaidehi Padhye
a.k.a Wendy
