Granddaughter photo by Susan Thistlethwaite
Our public life, our political life, is shaped by emotional connection. When millions of people deeply feel a woman president is possible, it becomes inevitable.
President Kamala Harris is not only possible these days, it feels inevitable. I feel it. I honestly do. In the last week the outpouring of sheer joy in being able to support Harris has been dramatic with huge calls of diverse supporters.
A crucial kick off for these calls came on Sunday night with the “Win With Black Women” advocacy group. It drew tens of thousands of attendees, raised more than $2 million for the just-launched Harris campaign and inspired a similar call led by Black men the next night that the group said raised $1.3 million more for Harris' campaign.
“White Women: Answer the Call” drew 164,000 women, apparently the largest Zoom call ever. It featured multiple celebrity guests like U.S. Women’s Soccer star Megan Rapinoe, musician Pink, and actress Connie Britton. It was dubbed “Karens for Kamala” to reference the meme that critiques white, middle class women acting in a racist fashion. Good to check that racism at the door, friends.
These efforts along with those by white men, LGBTQI folks and others have raised millions.
I was on the white women’s call and the emotion and energy were just explosive. One of the keys was the sense of connection in standing up together for our bodies, ourselves, our democracy and its rich diversity.
We must keep the emotional energy high up until the election.
When I was on the Religion Council of the Human Rights Campaign, we saw an enormous shift in American attitudes toward marriage equality when “Love is Love” became the dominant meme. Many Americans were finally able to connect emotionally to the rights of the LGBTQI community because love is such a powerful emotion. Marriage equality is a human right, but love moved the needle on cultural attitudes.
For a long time, conservatives, frankly, have understood this far better than progressives, especially white progressives, who can continue to write and speak as though policies mattered to the public. People do not vote policies; they vote out of emotional connection.
Hate is the conservatives’ go-to emotion as it generates so much energy of anger and fear.
Overcoming hate is not easy, God knows.
But I truly believe the kind of connection being made on these calls and in our communities signals a celebration of love over hate, compassion over cruelty, and frankly, right over wrong, that can win.
Love IS more powerful than hate. We have to act like we believe that.