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the iron lady and crooked hillary

So I’ve been thinking about the election recently, as I’m sure many people have. And in some ways, for me, this isn’t about Hillary’s politics, or Trump’s insanity.

I grew up in England. I was born in 1977, so by the time I was starting to walk and talk, the UK had its first female Prime Minister – Margaret Thatcher.

I don’t want to talk about her politics here, because as a kid, I didn’t really understand politics, didn’t understand how policies affect the lives of countless people.

But what I did understand, was that from the time I was 2, until the time I was 14, the UK was led by a very powerful woman. She stood toe to toe with Ronald Reagan. She, along with the Queen, represented the most powerful position in my nation.

Sure, people called her bossy, or “The Most Unpopular Woman in Britain.” She was called shrill — until Sir Laurence Olivier helped her by introducing her to his voice coach. She was even dubbed “The Iron Lady.”

A lot of people didn’t like “Maggie” but then, that didn’t matter to my child self. What I realized recently was that every time society tells me that women should accept less, or are less important, or when we’re told that we’re emotional, or bossy, or shrill, that the status quo is as it should be, and always will be, well, every time I hear those messages, verbally or otherwise, I don’t believe them.

I don’t believe them because my child self knows, at her core, that if one of the most powerful countries in the world can be ruled for over a decade by the daughter of a greengrocer, well then every argument you could possibly make is wrong.

Maggie herself didn’t believe that she’d ever see a female Prime Minister in her lifetime, and then she proved herself wrong. She isn’t a role model for me in terms of her politics, she isn’t someone I ever aspired to be, but she stands at the core of me every time I fight for diversity, fight against discrimination, fight to achieve the things I want to with my life. I will never feel inferior because of my gender, because the Iron Lady showed me what bullshit that was before I could even read.

A lot of people don’t like “Hills” but then, that doesn’t matter to the little girls growing up today. You might not agree with her politics. You might think she’s the most corrupt person ever to run for office (you’d be wrong, but that could be your opinion.)

You might even think that Trump is the lesser of two evils. But none of that matters to your daughters, granddaughters, nieces and even to your sons, grandsons and nephews. What everyone in this country really needs the next generation to believe, down to their core, is that nobody is inferior because of their gender.

Kids today have the benefit of seeing Obama, and knowing that no matter how many times someone may tell you that a black kid can’t do something, he’s already the example showing you that that’s bullshit. Now we need the same for our little girls, so they can grow up knowing that discrimination is something that we should have left behind long ago, and every argument you can make? It’s Bullshit.

Go Vote. Vote for Hillary not because you hate Trump. Not even because you like her. Vote because all our children need you to stand up and say “A woman can’t run the most powerful country in the world? Bullshit.”

—suzanne leibrick

Flommist Suzanne Leibrick is BRITISH, and thus an authority on everything, especially being a villain in the movies. Officially, she’s a 3D lighting and texture artist – as well as copy editor for the FLOMM! website. Copyright © 2016 Suzanne Leibrick. Pictured: Margaret Thatcher with Ronald Reagan at the Reagan Presidential Library, 1981, source.