Mariella Gattini

I had a dream… I was very close to Hillary in a rally, she apparently knew me for some reason, she looked very professional and charismatic in a light blue Chanel suit. I whispered in her ear: “We don’t have a choice, you have to keep going, it’s you or mayhem.” She didn’t look at me, but I could see how tears rolled down her cheeks. We were surrounded by mostly men, who all of a sudden embraced us both. They all were wearing black suits and big square-framed eyeglasses. In a way, I felt relieved that I wasn’t going to be the only one supporting her.

When I voted in the primaries this year, a tall lady, ahead of me in line, was commenting that she didn’t care who the republican candidate was, she was there that day to vote against Hillary. I didn’t say anything, there is nothing you can say to somebody who is totally biased, as if politics were an opportunity to see your team win at all cost. The problem with that mentality is that we lose focus of what is really going on in the country. The idea that a business man knows how to run a country not only surprises me, it frankly scares me.

For big business owners everything is about the bottom line, which is really money—their money, in their pockets. What makes people believe that business moguls are going to do something for them? When things go wrong, the first order of business for them is to fire people, or cut their salaries. They lobby relentlessly for the government to get out of the way, but when things go evidently wrong, for everyone to see, they are the first to ask the government for a handout.

I have nothing against making money, in an honest way. I have nothing against those who have more, but they do not impress me, not a bit.

A country can not be run like a business, we are not living in the United States, Inc., we are not selecting a C.E.O., because we are not members of a board. We are not even part of the country, we are the country, in all our diversity, in all our vulnerability, and in all our strength. The asset of this country is not money, it’s us. And as President Bill Clinton had said in different occasions, people do not need handouts, they don’t need charity, they need opportunities.

Since the 90’s I’ve seen how Hillary’s enemies have carefully crafted her negative image. People do that when they see somebody as a threat. I could also see the constant, relentless, blatant, public display of disrespect she had to endure, a disrespect that came from the right, the media, and even from her own husband.

How did she respond? She got back on her feet, dusted herself off, put her family first, and kept going. Today, she could choose to stay at home, enjoy her grandchildren, her money, her life! Instead, she chose the worst challenge ever, she chose to take care of this big, difficult, uninformed, misogynistic country. Nobody really wants the job, who in their right mind would choose it?

Many portray her as an ambitious woman, as if it were an insult. Others consider her tough. Well, that’s exactly what we need right now, somebody who can withstand the vicissitudes of our time in this crucial role, as a president. Besides, she has evolved since the 90’s, we all have, right? Over the years we have come to the conclusion that it’s not longer only about us, it’s about us in a worldwide context, where our output has a strong resonance in the world at large, and for that very same reason we have to be aware of what we say, and take responsibility for our own words and actions.

Her opponents are trying to attach to her anything that could tarnish her image, from her personal finances to what is going wrong around the world.

I don’t know how she is going to be as a president, I really don’t, the only thing I’m implying here is that it’s time that we give her the respect she deserves, after all the humiliations and public dishonor she has gone through. She and I don’t agree on everything, but at this point there is nobody else reasonable and qualified enough to take on this challenge.

Hillary has my vote, not because I’m voting against somebody else, not because she is a woman, but because she doesn’t consider herself a victim, to the contrary, she has used all the vitriol against her as fuel to keep going and thrive. I believe she is the most qualified politician to be our president, because she is backed by her decades of experience and dedication as a public servant.

I had this dream… last night.