So, Marianne Williamson. The world got a look at her last week during the Democratic debates. And mostly what you heard was that she’s a freak and has no business running for President of the United States.

May I remind you that we currently have someone as POTUS who no one thought would ever be President, and he used the exact opposite tactics of Williamson to get there. She’s all about love. He’s all about fear. 

He’ll never be President. 

She’ll never be President. But it’s not because we don’t need to adopt her ideals, rather it’s because we have collectively agreed to the type of person we want to be the figurehead for our nation on a global scale. And it ain’t her. Historically, our ideal President is a wealthy white man, with one exception. (And that was a mistake according to millions of white people.) No, we like businessmen. Lifelong politicians. Rich guys. People who say what we expect to hear, and who make promises to get elected that they can never keep. 

And we’re not sorry. It’s what’s what we like. That’s who we are. It’s familiar. Comfortable. Expected. 

Don’t rock the boat. Unless it’s to move backward in time. Then it’s fine.

No, Marianne Williamson will never be President. And frankly, I don’t want her to be. But, unlike the comedians who mock her, I do know a little about her—and it’s tragic that the thing she’s being mocked for is the one thing we need in this country: a looking inward to heal that which is wrong with us collectively. Her brand is empathy.

Only, that hippie shit doesn’t fly outside of California, Bub. Here in the “real world” we solve problems by pointing fingers. Screaming matches. Guns. It’s just how we do things and it’s never going to change.

Because change is hard. Change requires a looking inward. It requires taking personal accountability for our actions.

Personal accountability. Haha. Good one. No, that’s not what we care about in a President. We like men with gold-plated toilets. Accountability. Heh. What is this, Xanadu? 

I am neither Democrat nor Republican. I voted for Ross Perot. Twice. I was raised in a Republican house (before it became the party of blind sheep and evil shepherds) in the southern US. I married a Democrat from NJ. I don’t believe there’s any party that has all of the solutions for a nation as diverse and massive as ours. But, given that we only have two choices in this country, I definitely lean left.

Which is to say I care more about people than money. Or specifically, I care more about people than white men hoarding money. And yes, as a white man I often think what a waste it has been for me being a recalcitrant non-conformist. The golden bridge was *right there* in front of me the day I was born! They even provided me with a template to follow! 

But no, I had to go and read Marianne Williamson’s book A Return To Love. A book that changed my life from someone who had only the machine of the world as a reference point, to someone who accepts people who aren’t like me—seeing the humanness and beauty in them that exists in all of us. 

No, she’ll never be president. And that’s ok. But man, I personally hope she has the opportunity to help turn the soil of a once-great nation that over time has been poisoned by fear, greed, and indifference. 

Now let’s go elect Elizabeth Warren as President and begin taking this nation back. For the people. 

By the way, you do realize that Jesus wasn’t exactly a conformist, right? He also wasn’t fond of wealth accumulation. And he only had one law for us to follow—to Love each other. Only Jesus probably wouldn’t run for President of the United States. Which is a shame because I hear Andy Samburg does a great impression. 

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Jim

Hearing Signs
Hello, Sayulita!

Jim Mitchem

Writer. Father to daughters. Husband. Ad man. Raised by wolves. @jmitchem on twitter. First novel, Minor King, out now.

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