I have said this many times, that there seems to be enough room in the world for mediocre men, but not for mediocre women, and we really have to work very, very hard. — Madeleine Albright
Dearest Madam Secretary,
The news of your passing took me by surprise this week because, somehow, I was of the mindset that you would be here forever… If only. I have such incredible memories of you… starting with your becoming Madam Secretary. My goodness, that was such a note worthy event. You were The First (but absolutely not the last!) You were such an incredible breaker of glass ceilings and you were most certainly not mediocre! But my greatest joy ever was listening to you read your book, Fascism: A Warning… I imagined that what you shared must be similar to what your students heard in your classes, and perhaps… what other leaders heard when you spoke to them. You are leaving a void that will take many to fill but fortunately, you have inspired so many others and my hope is that those many others will rise up and fill that void in magnificent ways. I promise you that your memory is a blessing to so many. May you rest in power.
With Deepest Sympathies,
A Devoted Fan
Honorable Judge Brown Jackson,
I wanted to take a moment to send you my thoughts on The Senate Confirmation Hearing…aka Your Week In Hell. I am so very sorry that out of the hundreds of judgements that you have delivered, some…the mediocre…only focused on a very small handful. Do not fear, we all saw that they were doing there… Sadly, Irony died a very long time ago. The adage of glass houses seems to be most appropriate here, but they are blind and deaf to that. Sadly, the mediocre are never mute… and for a very brief moment I erroneously felt a bit of woman-ship with you. Many of us have been in meetings where we were interrupted…continuously… so please, forgive my white privilege in even momentarily thinking what I (and many other white women) experienced was in any way similar, it was not…at all. I also want to thank Cory Booker for showing us all so beautifully how to have someones back. And yet through the entire debacle, you maintained such incredible composure! You are a shining example for all of us! I am so eager for your confirmation to the Supreme Court. Your presence there is long overdue…and I, for one, am so glad you persevered. You are the best of all of us!
Sincerely,
A Joy-Full and Inspired American
Have a great weekend everyone, I will see you all back here on Monday with my word update!
You’ve written eloquent and necessary letters. Kat. I also linked these two extraordinary women in my mind this week. They were and are both extraordinary examples of working very, very hard, being twice as good as mediocre men to be considered as good, and persevering.
Excellent letters Kat! Have a wonderful weekend.
Wonderful letters to these two women who are role models for all of us.
These are both excellent letters, and I share many of your feelings. The world is better place for having both of these women in it.
Happy weekend!
I will echo the others, these are excellent letters. The world would be in a better place if we had more women like these in leadership positions.
I had the great, great good fortune of actually meeting Madeline Albright when she was in GR (back in the 90s) when she was in town for a POWER-packed panel of former Secretaries of State (and MA, as the SofS at the time) at the Gerald R. Ford museum. It was amazing, and such a wonderful memory for me this past weekend. XO
I loved these two letters! You expressed what so many of us felt.