You don’t have to be a feminist (or perhaps you do) to know that women have always made sacrifices. Whether they give up careers to be stay at home moms or just bite their tongues when denigrated by a man. Women have had to fight and struggle for everything they have.
There was a time in our country when women could not vote, could not go to college, could not even open a bank account without the approval of a man. When they were ‘allowed’ to work it was always “women’s” work. School teachers, nurses, secretaries, waitresses. And of course child rearing has always historically fallen to women.
In my lifetime I’ve seen progress for women. It started for me in 1965 when my mother, an unmarried woman, adopted me. It was the first single-parent adoption to a woman in the U.S. Women are doctors, lawyers, astronauts, pilots, police officers, Senators and Governors, even Vice President. Women can be – almost – anything. But for the second time in the 21st century we’ve seen what they can not be, President of the United States.
It’s not just the way that Donald Trump so easily and expertly denigrates women, especially women of color. His words would have no meaning were they to fall on deaf ears. But they don’t. There is unfortunately a segment of our country where his misogyny resonates.
Toward the end of the campaign former President Obama specifically addressed black men and their trepidation about electing a woman as president. That some men, and not necessarily specifically black men, did not feel as though a woman could, or should, be President. That should have been a warning sign. Going forward, it should serve as a warning to Democrats. Despite all of our progress as a nation, as a society, America sadly isn’t ready for a woman President.
The phrase “saving America” means different things to different people. For Republicans it means saving us from having to be politically correct, from having to treat everyone with dignity and respect. Saving us from equality. It means saving billionaires from having to pay taxes or face justice. And saving us from the truth.
For the rest of us it means saving us from hate, bigotry, racism, misogyny, fascism and oligarchy. Saving our rights and freedoms. It means ensuring that our children are not forced to pray or read the bible in school, that women are not forced to carry unwanted or life threatening pregnancies, that everyone is treated equally. Saving the rule of law, our natural resources, our democracy, and so much more.
The damage that will be done in just the next four years will be immense. And not just to the economy or the environment, but to society. Project 2025 isn’t about conservative control for four years, it’s about implementing conservative thought. Turning us back to a patriarchal society. Taking away the rights of everyone except white men. Even if Democrats can regain control of the government, the damage could take a generation to repair.
For all of these reasons it is imperative that Democrats regain the White House and control of Congress. To do this we will need to find a way to pull back the independent voters and the swing states. And if the last two elections were a referendum on the economy, then Trump himself will do most of the work to elect a Democrat in 2028 through his tariffs and economic ruin.
There are still many unknowns about 2028. Will Donald Trump break the law and run again? Will he break the law and refuse to step down, again? If there is another Presidential election, we will still face the same MAGA forces. The same hate, racism and misogyny. Donald Trump will retain his strangle hold on the Republican party so long as he has breath in his lungs.
And the next Republican presidential candidate will be another MAGA fascist white male. But one who will be endorsed by Trump’s base. The past must serve as an example for the future. And for that reason in 2028 we may need to ask women to sacrifice once again.