Why I am thankful that a new day is on the horizon
In November of 2016, I invited my two daughters to watch a woman make history. Hillary Clinton was poised to become president of the United States, and I thought it would be valuable for my kids to see her become one of the most powerful people on the planet. Since the day they were born, I’ve been trying to teach my girls that they can do anything, be anyone they want to be: Hillary was set to provide invaluable external proof. Yeah, not so much. Instead, we watched as Donald Trump became president, much to our household’s shock and anger. My oldest daughter, then 15, went to bed infuriated by what she perceived as the injustice and stupidity of it all, while I set the bar for his presidency at “not dying in the next four years.” Anything else remotely positive would be a bonus.
Now, there are certainly plenty of political role models in Canada, which has already had a woman prime minister. Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne is openly gay, NDP leader Andrea Horwath exudes a confidence and toughness that I find admirable, and my kids really liked former Guelph mayor Karen Farbridge.
But the universe my kids inhabit is dominated by social media where the sheer volume of followers and likes evokes a certain kind of status and so nothing resonates like the power of fame — some- thing Trump taught us all too well.
And that brings us to Oprah Winfrey and her Golden Globes speech. It was the first thing I’ve asked my kids to watch since Clinton’s near-election (OK, the new “Star Wars” movie wasn’t really optional, either) in part because Oprah so perfectly encapsulated the message of hope and progress I was hoping Clinton would deliver in victory. That Oprah did it with such a personal touch — something Hillary couldn’t manage — made it all the more powerful. And much has changed in the past year.
As the father of young women, the #MeToo campaign has been an agonizing articulation of one of my greatest fears, one that I’m not sure I would have been able to verbalize before it happened: that my children would be faced with a series of terrible choices forced on them by men in positions of power. I couldn’t be more grateful for the bravery of the women who continue to speak out.
What Oprah did was envision a day when #MeToo would transform our society and our culture into something better. The whole speech is worth a watch, but the closing lines drove the message home with power and grace.
“So, I want all the girls watching here now to know that a new day is on the horizon. And when that new day finally dawns, it will be because of a lot of magnificent women, many of whom are right here in this room tonight, and some pretty phenomenal men fighting hard to make sure that they become the leaders who take us to the time when nobody ever has to say, ‘Me too’ again. Thank you.”
My kids didn’t say much when the YouTube clip stopped playing. That’s not surprising. There are, in my experience, very few “light bulb” moments in parenting, conclusive evidence that the really important thing you’re trying to say has gotten through.
More than a year after an angry election day, Oprah’s speech represented something that seemed lost on that day: hope. Now it’s up to my children to continue on their path to becoming strong, independent women, to not only benefit from the “new day” Oprah so artfully articulated but, most importantly, to be a part of that change.