Our First Female Presidential Candidate--Democratic Party Edition

Let us mark this moment in history:  we have seen the Democratic party choose Hillary Clinton as their candidate.  She's been the presumptive nominee for some time, but now it's official.

It's been a long time coming.  When I cast my vote for Mondale and Ferraro back in 1984, back then, I thought we'd have a female candidate on the top of the ticket in no time.  I wouldn't have dreamed that it would take over 30 years.

It's been a remarkable time to be alive--casting votes for black presidents, casting votes as I expect to do for a female president, going to state-sanctioned marriages of same-sex couples, and yes, I know how much this list marks me as a liberal.  If wanting everyone to have the same rights and opportunities, regardless of race, gender, sexual preference--well then, yes, I'm a liberal.

But I'm one of those rare liberals, a liberal with conservative relatives and friends, with whom I've had serious conversations.  I understand how quickly these changes have come and how unsettling it is to so many people, especially to people who have not been working towards these changes, people who did not have these changes even on their radar screens.

I know that in times like these, the backlash can be unexpected and ferocious, taking shapes we wouldn't have forecast.  I will hope for the best, while also trying to defuse the potential flashpoints.