BRYCE ON POLITICS

First of all, I’m shy. I’m dreadfully shy. So nobody break down my email box with emails, please. I want to run for Governor of California and serve as the Senator of Los Angeles when I move to Sacramento, after getting my Ph.D. along with everything else, which is on my blog or Facebook page, and then I become a congressional representative in Washington, D.C. After that, the door is wide open to run for president. The old Man used to say that being president is a man’s job, and how dare I even think it?

My first memory of Tiffany Caban is not a flash of imagery inside of a criminal court or a race for the Queens district attorney’s office. It is a very personal memory. I was a newly employed advocate for domestic violence survivors at an agency called Connect NYC in their legal advocacy helpline, and Tiffany was an intern law student from New York Law School. She had worked fiercely, preparing a case to petition for immigration relief for a survivor who had been brutally attacked by her ex-spouse. The photographs of the survivors’ injuries left lasting first impressions for those of us who helped her. Immigration relief for survivors oftentimes requires numerous documents, statements, certifications and letters that will confirm a survivor's willingness and efforts to report the violence they were subjected to. When everything had neatly arrived to the office and Tiffany went over the check list with our supervisor, she heard the words: “This was your advocacy work, you know?” I saw her face light up with surprise, realizing that her work had just made a difference in the life of someone facing a system that is oftentimes very unfair. I remember that moment fondly because I was coming to the same realizations myself. The year was 2010 and our path of advocating for the communities and people we cared about had just started. When I think about the insight Tiffany can have as the Queens District Attorney, that is the moment I will think about.

Anyone who is a close follower of British politics knows that it would be an understatement to say that the United Kingdom is staring boldly in the face of instability and disunity due to the handling of Brexit negotiations. Parliament has squandered nearly all of their time since the 2016 referendum when the British people voted to leave the European Union. Instead of working in a unified matter to find a solution, which would allow Britain to exit on good terms with the EU and maintain stability in Britain.

Some may know Elizabeth Warren from her comments that she claimed to have Native American Ancestry, and the flack from the Cherokee Nation, Trump, and minorities in her claiming to be Native American herself. This could spiral into a place where we accuse Warren of trying to gain credibility, appropriating, or taking the place of true Native Americans from an opportunity to work at an Ivy League University like Harvard. Although Warren has slipped on her past (like many of the 12 other candidates running for office) I find that if we focus on Warren's ideals and her plan to fix Trump's mess (and history's mess), that Elizabeth Warren may be able to become the next President in the 2020 Democratic Election. Personally, I am in between Sanders, Harris, and Warren for 2020 but, I have to look into them more. Here is my take on the case for Warren in the 2020 Election:

The smart-talking girl from the Bronx who has no limits when it comes to slamming the President is making history every single day. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (or AOC) became a senator in a landslide victory this past midterm election, and as she continues to propose legislation and state her cases for everything from racial justice to economic equality, she also represents the future for young people in our political system.

Politics, for the most part, seems to be a "guys' only" club. Our senators and representatives are mostly male. Politics reporters, too, also seem to be mostly male. Even the talking heads on television are majority-male.

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As a result of more women in corporate culture and politics, the Violence Against Women Act of 1999 brought to the forefront victim protection and stalking prevention. It can be proven through legislation such as this that when more women are in powerful positions, more progressive and realistic referendums are made.

There has been one position in the United States government that has worked tirelessly to promote the needs related to early childhood development, HIV/AIDS awareness, Women’s Health & Wellness, LGBT rights, fighting obesity, supporting military families, ending homelessness among our veterans, addressing domestic and international literacy issues, securing health care for children across America, advocating women’s rights, slowly killing gender inequality, increasing adoption resources and foster care services, and ending violence against women.

From Angela Merkel to Ivanka Trump, these women hold more political power than you can imagine. Named as Forbes' Most Powerful Women of 2017, each of these women have claimed their rightful spot for being some of the top game-changers of the world, on top of being successful, powerful, and intelligent.

The two party system is deeply flawed. It pits people against each other. If we truly want to judge a candidate by their character and not their affiliation, then we are doing the work that Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. wanted us to do. On the heels of campaign finance reform, we need to redefine our politics and ourselves, since Republicans are all about being pro-life and Democrats are about equal pay for equal work. Some of us moderates are left out within the two party systems since the system forces us to lean to the right or to the left, but never in the middle.