Michelle Obama's speech: By a woman for a woman

I have followed the past few US Presidential elections the same way a person mildly interested in sports follows the Football World Cup – enough interest to keep tab of the status of the prominent teams involved and scores, even watch a couple of important matches but not that much interest to invest emotionally in it.

But that leaked tape of Donald Trump making lewd comments about women for some inexplicable reason had a really jarring and mortifying effect on me. This despite the fact that:

1) There is so much fodder available regarding many Indian politician’s statements on women that I’d assume that all ability to be shocked is lost into space
2) Like a lot of women, I am pretty much resigned to the feeling that objectification of women is too widespread culturally to wish away
3) That some really shady elements especially in positions of power have this sense of entitlement where they can violate who they think are beneath them and get away with it is no secret

But to hear what you sense in verbalized form so vulgar and brazen that too from a person running for arguably the most influential position in the world was really a punch in the stomach.
I tried to think coherently and logically about this shit storm by gathering different points of view emerging from global coverage and writing about it. But all that managed to come out of me was a barrage of expletives that could cut down a forest.

I finally got an answer to why this had an overwhelming effect on me in the form of Michelle Obama’s speech yesterday. Minus the endorsement/political part of it, hers was a remarkable speech which I do hope will be remembered for a very long time to come. In the first 10-15 minutes of her speech, not only did every single word of hers resonate with me (and I am sure a lot of people especially women), but she took a powerful stand against something that is so obviously wrong…something that spineless worms like the section of people who after having condemned the words (whether religious group or even women for that matter) have failed to do by still continuing to defend and offer support to someone who is clearly morally bankrupt.

As I have grown up, I have tried to, over the years convince myself that there is no black and white in life and that what is right and wrong, a lot of times, is just a matter of perception. Guess in a way, it’s a defense mechanism to navigate through this world as an adult. But some things in life like viewing women in the way Donald Trump does are just clear cut wrong...some things are as Michelle puts it – about basic human decency.

Thanks Michelle Obama for rationalizing my anger in a way that I just couldn’t.

PS - I wish there was some way where qualities like basic human decency be made measurable, quantifiable items that could be used as automatic disqualifying criteria for people running for high ranking public offices. Then democratic elections would be about selecting who you think is right for the job and not who is least of the evil options which is what is appearing to happen increasingly