In the Democratic primary, like a kid in a candy shop, I was drawn to all the bright shiny stars like Cory Booker, Kamala Harris, Andrew Yang. As I watched Kamala struggle to get momentum, I turned to Elizabeth Warren. Despite the fact that she would be 70 years old when entering the white house, I affirmed two things: my own decade of the 70s had been highly productive and she knew how to get things done. I did not give Biden and Sanders the same benefit of the doubt.
Having been subjected to the “Father Knows Best” patriarchy
all my life, the two people who did not interest me were Bernie Sanders and Joe
Biden. What were these two ‘old fogies’ doing on the public stage? Because of
age and sex, I equated them with the misfit currently abusing the office of
President.
When none of my preferred candidates won enough delegates from the first primaries that skew white, older, and conservative, I was devastated. My enthusiasm shifted to “whatever it takes to remove Donald Trump.” I resigned myself to focusing on campaigns for Senate, House, Governorships, and flipping state legislatures to more open and futuristic power.
Thrilled with Democrats running really competitive campaigns, I kept making my donations and getting my postcards (Covid-19 form of canvassing) ready to go. The Sanders-Biden taskforce working to find common ground on key policies instilled a bit of enthusiasm and when Biden selected Kamala Harris as his running mate, the excitement I had at the beginning of the primary returned. Still, Joe was not receiving my donations.
What A Dead Tree Showed Me
Meanwhile, a strange phenomenon occurred in my front yard. A friend had given me the roots and branches of a ‘dead’ Sumac tree to make into a stick sculpture. The branches reminded me of an elk’s rack and the root ball could be his head. I came up with an idea for the sculpture but knew I would not get to it for several months. I tried finding a place for it behind my townhouse but none made sense or met my aesthetic needs. Moving it around to the front, I found a corner behind the Rhododendron where the branches were indeed a sculpture.
A few weeks later, as I was watering the front yard, I spotted something green behind the Rhodie. I peeked behind and saw several green shoots coming up from the roots of the dead tree. What!!! This Sumac is not dead? When I showed a neighbor, she suggested I put some soil beneath the roots but I didn’t want trees growing there so I left it alone. I contacted the former owner and she came and snipped a couple of green shoots from the roots.
Continuing to water and leave the Sumac alone, I marveled at the new life coming from an ostensibly dead tree. The roots were strong and evidently the tree just needed rest, privacy, and oxygen.
Then came the national Democratic convention. For four
nights I was glued to my computer screen watching it live stream. I have never
been a Biden fan; perhaps because I didn’t find him intellectual enough for my
taste. Or perhaps because he reminds me of sticking out like a sore thumb in my own fanatically non-intellectual
blue-collar family. Night by night, I became aware of my sexist ageism as I learned of his
reaching out to everyone, regardless of their political persuasion, a trait
that we desperately need to bridge the divisions in our country.
When Bill Clinton contrasted the current president’s Blame/Bully/Belittle pattern of behavior with Biden’s BUILD BACK BETTER, I felt something inside me shift. I allowed myself to open to Joe’s other theme, fighting for the soul of the nation, a term used by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. I had been hesitant to embrace it because it sounded ‘religious.’ I was more comfortable fighting for our democracy.
Over the course of the convention I came to recognize how Biden has quietly been binding Democrats together and how his courageous support for the Black Lives Matter movement continues a lifelong commitment to racial and gender equity. He is a master statesman tempered by personal family losses that have made him hugely empathetic. I realized that the excellent cancer care I now receive is very likely a result of his leading the Moonshot to find a cure for cancer.
Experience cannot be taken for granted. Like Warren, Biden knows how to get things done. At this time in our history, creating relationships may be more important than great oratory. Like the Sumac, his roots just needed some oxygen to reveal his regenerative power to me. And that regenerative power is available to Gen X, Baby Boomers, Democrats, Republicans, Independents and anyone who is open to change.
