Tammy Duckworth

A few weeks ago we saw a video about Tammy Duckworth and how she is the first woman voted into congress. Not only that but she’s also an Army Veteran. This is opened my eyes to something that I haven’t though of before, disabled government officials.  By electing Duckworth we’ve started a movement that hopefully won’t see and end anytime soon, we’re shifting our perceptions and what society deems as acceptable. Her campaign video even though it was very informative and inspiring lead my to believe that most of her campaign focused on her military background and not so much about the actual issues involved in running an ordinary electoral campaign. I do believe that while she is trying to get noticed and elected at the same time that her military background and the fact that she has grown from her experiences is one way to persuade people to vote for her. She however almost completely focused on just that, avoiding the other people who could potentially vote for her. She does make relate the fact that overcoming, perseverance, and success make her a stronger leader. These ideas are a great focus point for any campaign, but within the video the focus is almost entirely on her disability. Then I saw her opponent’s actions and videos over the course of his campaign. Joe Walsh a tea part freshman known for calling Obama a tyrant and legal disputes over his child support.  Walsh was fighting Duckworth’s great support for our military by saying things like Duckworth an Iraq War vet and Purple Heart recipient “wasn’t a true hero.” The reason for it was because she talked about her past military service too much. Which lead my to understand Duckworth’s campaign a little better and why she was leaning on focusing a good part of her disability and past on this campaign. Upon further researching Duckworth I found that she plans to bring help and support to war vets such as herself, something that this country attempts to address but fails because of the lack of funding and support. Duckworth is the first ever woman injured in combat to be elected to national office.  She is the daughter of a Marine and a Thai immigrant and represents much more than just that. She is changing face of America, a potential leader for the rights of women and immigrants, and an advocate of assistance to the poor, jobless, and disabled. Having someone that is so experienced and as diverse as Tammy Duckworth makes me incredibly proud to be an American citizen. While other countries are banning and explanting people from being who they are and what they want to be. The fact that we can allow people with such vigor and strength as Duckworth shows that we as a nation can stand together regardless of background.