Raised in Houston, Texas, one could argue that Marianne Williamson, 70, has lived a hundred lives. Growing up in the 1950s and 60s, her parents educated her on social justice and political activism. But the real turning point was when she heard her rabbi speak at a synagogue in her early teens against the ongoing war in Vietnam.
After graduating from public school, she went on to double major in theater and philosophy at Pomona College, a private liberal arts college in Claremont, California, before dropping out her junior year. From there on, she spent her 20s traveling between New York and San Francisco as a waitress and a singer.
It wasn’t until 1983, when Williamson moved to Los Angeles with her two-month-old daughter, that she found her passion in being a lecturer Philosophical Research Society. Through her lectures, she found a way of connecting with people. She even began counseling people who suffered from long-term illnesses. These experiences led her to publish her first novel in 1992, “A Return to Love: Reflections on the Principles of A Course in Miracle.”
Marianne Williamson’s journey from her early years as a lecturer and author has morphed into a passion for political activism. When Williamson first entered the political arena in 2014 in a race for the U.S. House of Representatives. She based her campaign on policies and programs that prioritize the needs of marginalized and vulnerable populations. Her contributions have led to the public conversation around spirituality, and politics have been significant, challenging conventional wisdom and offering a unique perspective on the role of love and compassion in creating a more just and equitable society.
“I don’t believe in traditional politics,” Williamson told The Jewish Telegraphy Agency in 2018, during her run for the 2020 presidential campaign. “They must be overridden. We need a more inspiring and compelling conversation about our democracy and our future. The foundations of our democracy are being eroded. We need a whole-person politics that speaks to emotions and psychology.”
While her previous political campaigns did not result in electoral victories, that only strengthened her passion for politics. She is now running for President in the 2024 presidential election as a Democrat. Williamson has brought her perspective on income inequality, healthcare reform, and environmental protection issues. She has argued that policies and programs rooted in love and compassion are more likely to create positive outcomes for individuals and communities than those based solely on economic or political considerations.
“The system as it now exists puts short-term corporate profits before the safety, health, and well-being of people, animals and the planet. With millions of Americans falling deeper and deeper underwater economically, anyone in political office who either doesn’t care to fix that – or doesn’t have the spine to fix it – doesn’t deserve to be running this country,” Williamson writes on her website explaining why she’s running for office.
I have found that Williamson is an outside-the-box pick for the next president of the United States, but she has passion and love for humanity. She compiles extensive research and her viewpoints on policies on her website, focusing on healthcare, the economy, human rights issues, and immigration. She wants to see America prosper and become more united than as divided as it’s become after the 2020 presidential race. If elected into office, she could be the one to bring a wave of change.