Arlene Dickinson should include herself in this list

Reposted from Facebook

I’ve often thought about what it truly takes to be Michelle Obama. To stand in the most scrutinized spotlight in the world, absorb hatred and cruel criticisms (that would seriously break most of us), and somehow still show up every single day with grace, purpose, and dignity.

Or Melinda Gates, who’s rebuilding her identity and mission after an enormously painful and public chapter, and turning the attention on her toward the good she wants and is doing in the world. Or Kaitlan Collins, who’s steadfastly holding the most powerful people in the world accountable, on live television, while absorbing their hostility in real time.

Margaret Atwood is still speaking up and writing uncomfortable truths, fully unafraid to face and challenge the patriarchy. Malala Yousafzai survived a horrific assassination attempt for daring to demand education for girls and came back fighting louder and harder for women’s rights. Jane Fonda has been courageously advocating for peace and human rights for 6 decades facing backlash most of us couldn’t or wouldn’t withstand.

Then there’s Hayley Wickenheiser, who fought for decades to make women’s hockey legitimate, is now a celebrated coach in men’s hockey, and saves lives as a medical doctor. And Clara Hughes, who sacrificed her polished public image to instead speak honestly about addiction and mental illness when silence would have been so much easier for her.

Every one of these women hasn’t simply endured the criticism and obstacles thrown at them. They’ve transformed their difficult experiences into something meaningful for all of us. They each think generationally and they’re unafraid to be authentic and real. They all speak truth when silence would be far safer. They don’t shrink.

I doubt the changes the world needs today will happen in my lifetime. But one day I know my grandkids will look back and see clearly that these were the people who mattered most to our future, precisely because they refused to be silenced when it would have been so much easier to be quiet.

Michelle Obama has shown us what it looks like to carry an impossible weight and emerge more extraordinary because of it. As a woman, I respect her and all of these women enormously.

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