Kamala Harris visits the Gila River Indian Community, July 6, 2023. Photo: Gila River Indian News
A friend’s question prompted me to wonder why I’ve felt and heard so little enthusiasm—in fact, almost no mention among family—of the extraordinary elevation of Vice-President Kamala Harris to the position of Democratic nominee for the presidency. This silence is even more remarkable given that most of us know this is our only hope of defeating Donald Trump: a prosecutor of known talents and commitment versus a felon with none!
It may be that the thick cloud of negativity that has settled over us recently makes it simply impossible to feel hope. It reminds me of the thick cloud of smoke from Canadian wildfires that has settled into my beloved Rio Grande Valley shrouding the Jemez mountains to the west and the Sandia mountains to the south. The habit of negativity is hard to break; it can sometimes seem the only adult, sophisticated response to uncertainty. Easier to expect nothing than to hope and be disappointed.
My negativity was dispelled this morning when I was listening to one of my favorite FM radio programs, “Native American Calling,” possibly the only daily program narrated by a native and featuring native voices.
Monday morning the head of the Gila River Tribe in Arizona was speaking about the Vice-President’s recent visit, his pleasure and excitement vibrating in his voice. She’d come for the whole day, meeting with their youth group, riding in her cavalcade through the modest community with inhabitants outside their houses waving homemade signs. She visited the tribe’s federally funded water treatment plant to see how it was working; in this 1800-year drought, it is making it possible for the tribe to survive. No one was talking about how she was dressed or how skillfully her make-up was applied. This was not a photo-op; this was a day-long personal visit to one of the most underserved communities in the nation.
I don’t have any right to nurture my gloom in the face of this example of commitment. Yes, we are facing what we have always faced: the failure of all attempts at nuclear disarmament, the dreadful persistence of war supported and funded by the U.S., the ongoing rush of climate change.
But as I said to my visiting teenage grandson when he replied to a question about climate change that he and his friends are “nihilistic,” we have a moral obligation to do what we can—avoid plastic bottles, limit air travel, compost, turn out the lights. None of these small acts will change the terrible eventualities we face but they are essential for our souls’ survival.
And so is a big bright and loud “hurrah!” for Kamala Harris.
Brava to you and to Kamala.
What every human being wants more than anything else (exceptions of water, food, basic needs), is to be SEEN. The marginalized folks in the USA are never really seen. There are so many of us! If you are BIPOC, NOT heterosexual, NOT Christian, childless yet married, or any other “deal” that makes you seem like you came from outer space; you feel unseen and therefor not important to the collective.
May Ms Kamala keep up these good works. She is a part of the Democratic party. Neither of our two parties have acted in behalf of the entire collective. The government of the corporations and for the corporations must perish from this earth. The war machine must be destroyed. Gaia will endure and survive.
May it be so.
My amazing god-daughter is a member of AKA and a Hampton Grad just like Kamala.
I am so stoked about her candidacy based on my knowledge of those who have the
Hampton experience!