Tuesday, March 10, 2009

Living History by Hilary Clinton

Lately, I have been having trouble finding a book that I can complete. Not much has held my interest. It took me over three weeks to finish the autobiography of Hilary Clinton called Living History. Not because it was boring, it was actually quite enlightening. I just feel a lack of motivation, but there might be other reasons.

Hilary's book reminded me that the President and his family are human - capable of mistakes and successes. Their lives are overly scrutinized. Hilary decides to wear a pink suit once and the news is abuzz about why she chose to wear it. She has a slip of the tongue and the whole world analyzes it and takes it out of context. I can't imagine how they could get anything done being under the microscope. I admire her strength.

I must remember not to do the same thing to the Obamas. They are under a LOT of pressure already. They are trying their best to maintain a sense of normalcy and do what they think is the right thing. Pres Obama is being pulled in every direction possible.

Naturally, what inspired me the most about Hilary was that she was a woman. She has changed the role of First Lady. First Lady was expected to be a gracious dinner hostess and a pretty face, not much else. She wanted to take charge and change the healthcare system, but she got crap for it partially because she was a woman and the First Lady. How frustrating. I don't know how she made it through it all. She got so much crap throughout her presidential election campaign for being a woman.

In my opinion, Hilary truly showed her personal strength when it came to finding out about her husband's inappropriate actions with Monica Lewinsky. American culture and society would have told Hilary to dump her husband. Because that is what is practiced. If a relationship doesn't work, give up and move on. But she didn't do that. She decided that she should stay with her husband, forgive him for his mistakes, and learn to overcome personal struggles.

The people we love the most can do things that hurt us. Children do that to parents all the time. Does that mean we give up? We usually don't, we keep loving them anyway.

Hilary Clinton is a strong woman and I only wish I could be half as strong as her.