For those of you who don’t already know, on October 13th, Michelle Obama gave a speech that may now be regarded as one of the most impactful speeches of this election. So if that’s the case, why isn’t everyone talking about it? Well CNN and MSNBC aired the speech, but it is not too surprising that Fox News failed to do so. Why exactly? In short, Fox has a reputation for disregarding many of the accusations against Trump, therefore, deeming it unnecessary to air a speech from the First Lady full of criticism against his behavior. To me that looks like an all-too transparent bias from a news outlet whose purpose is supposed to be to properly inform the public.
That being said, since Fox News won’t do their job, I highly recommend checking out the news sources that will (i.e. CNN, MSNBC, or even Youtube for that matter), and because that still may not be enough, I’ll attempt to give you my two-cents in a short run down.
During the address from Michelle Obama, she took down Trump with more passion and emotion than I have ever seen. Her voice shook as she denounced his “sexually predatory behavior” and “demeaning” comments towards women. She raised her voice when comparing Trump’s rhetoric to the “guy yell[ing] vulgar words about your body”–words that make you “uncomfortable in your own skin.” She proclaimed that no woman, and no human being for that matter, should ever have to stand for Trump’s verbal abuse. While I have seen the condemnation of Trump’s temperament time and time again in news cycles, tweets, Facebook posts, etc., never before have I witnessed something like Michelle Obama’s speech, and not just the speech itself, but how it was delivered. And honestly, I don’t think I’ll ever see something like it again. This wasn’t just another speech form of propaganda or an attempt at expressing a political opinion, or written for the purpose of supporting a specific candidate; rather, it was a speech powered by personal anger, sadness, and an unwavering fear of Donald Trump himself. While I can’t necessarily speak for women everywhere, there is no way for me (or Michelle for that matter) to sleep soundly at night knowing it is possible that the future protector and caretaker of our nation, can’t even bother to care for the very people within it.
Now what? What do I do with this gut-deep uneasiness and concern for my very future? Yes, we may be scared. Yes, we may be angry. And yes, this is not something we can simply ignore.
So then what comes next is actually quite simple: whoever you are, and wherever you are, be your very own Michelle Obama. Listen to what is being said around you, find what drives you, make yourself heard, and in case you forgot…vote.