Something Lost, Something Gained: Reflections on Life, Love, and Liberty

by Hillary Rodham Clinton

I miss a time when truth mattered. I miss fact-based debates about policies to solve problems and improve lives. I miss the clear separation of church and state, once sacrosanct, now breached by culture warriors and Christian nationalists. I miss elections where everyone respects the will of the people, without constant attacks by sore losers and wannabe dictators.

In 2016, I famously described half of Trump supporters as “the basket of deplorables.” I was talking about the people who are drawn to Trump’s racism, sexism, homophobia, xenophobia, Islamophobia—you name it.

I still believe deeply in American democracy because I believe in the basic decency of the American people. I believe that if you dig deep enough, through all the mud of politics, eventually you hit something hard and true: a foundation of fundamental values and aspirations that still binds most of us together as Americans.

I hope the women presidents in our nation’s future get to choose how they will be addressed, no matter how much of a mouthful it is.

if we’re going to successfully change the world, we can’t lose sight of the reason we wanted to change it in the first place. Changing the world means nothing if it’s not changing individual lives for the better.

the struggles we as women face look different based on our backgrounds, our races, our religions, our nationalities, our ages, but we share a common fight for equality and opportunity.

As my friend Madeleine Albright said, there’s a special place in hell for women who don’t help other women.

We’re not just voting against Donald Trump; we’re voting for a future where families thrive, our economy prospers, and women can actually balance family and work.

Abortion bans are a denial of women’s citizenship and humanity. There is no freedom without bodily autonomy—and no autonomy without full reproductive health care.

Democracy is about voting and fair elections and majority rule (all of which are now under assault)—and it’s also about civil rights, individual freedoms, and protections for minorities that should not be subject to the whims of the majority. Nearly thirty years ago I caused a bit of a stir when I said that women’s rights are human rights. They still are. A country can’t be a true democracy if women are denied the right to make decisions about their own bodies and their own health care.

When the Republican Party became the party hostile to civil rights, it was inevitable that it would become more anti-democratic. You can’t be both the party of freedom and the party of repression.

Christian nationalists are particularly hostile to women’s rights and empowerment, some even vocally envisioning an America where women don’t vote and are subservient to their husbands, stay home to rear children instead of pursuing an education or career, and have their most personal medical decisions dictated by biblical edicts.

HILLARY RODHAM CLINTON is the first woman to be nominated for president by a major political party and the winner of the national popular vote.