On Tuesday, I reached another milestone in my project and sent out all my letters to the Chief Justices and Presidents of the Supreme Courts of the world. In total, I sent out 189 letters, and it is so exciting to have them all out there in the universe.
I’m not worried that I haven’t received any responses from heads of government yet. Like Jimmy from the post office said, it takes a long time for letters to get from one place to another. I’ve got my fingers crossed that some letters come in soon.
Since I last wrote, a couple of things have happened — one being President Joe Biden succumbing to pressure to bow out of the 2024 Presidential race.
Prior to pulling out, there was a lot of pressure on him to “pass the baton” from celebrities and members of his own party, and he was quite stubborn about the fact that he wasn’t going to withdraw. I said to Mum that that is the natural human response: if people tell you to do something, of course you’re going to say, “No, I’ll do it my way.” I was very surprised when he eventually said he wasn’t going to run and that he endorsed Kamala Harris.
I don’t know what I think about that. Biden is 81 years old, and Trump is 78, so there’s not really a lot of difference in their age, but Biden seems to be a very old 81.
My mother has a friend who is a physician, and he’s 81, and he still works as a consultant at one of the hospitals. He is youthful and energetic, and you’d never really know his age. But then you look at Biden, and he looks like a very sweet old man whom you want to help across the road.
It’s funny — now that I am 42, just about to turn 43, I look at those younger than me and I see a real difference from myself.
I see it at uni when I’ve been there; I see it through a human rights organisation I’m involved with, and I don’t feel threatened by younger people. What I feel is a sense of excitement for them and the possibilities that are going to be around in their lifetime — things like AI.
I see a place for younger people in the world; I see hope, expectation, dreams, and the future. There is so much possibility ahead of them, and watching younger people step into a world that is changing so quickly — with things like AI — actually makes me feel excited for them rather than threatened.
And then I look at older people like Joe Biden, and I see experience and a level of wisdom that no young person could ever replicate. There is a place for older people in this world too. We need them, and I genuinely cherish them. That’s why I didn’t like the way the media tried to make Joe Biden look like an old, senile, stumbling idiot when that is far from what he really is. It felt disrespectful, reductive, and unfair.
And it’s a shame that he is going out like this, to be honest. The Democratic Party really had to force their hand to get him to step down, and the whole thing feels a bit unceremonious for someone who has dedicated so much of his life to public service.
So Kamala Harris is now the presumptive presidential nominee, and people like Joe Biden and Hillary Clinton have endorsed her. Obama hasn’t, and I don’t know if that’s normal or what that means.
I think I’ve mentioned how I’ve been watching Fox News at night, and they are making her look like an idiot. But I said to Mum, they’re not just making her look like an idiot — they’re making her look like a woman idiot.
Trump’s running mate, J.D. Vance, made a comment in 2021 implying that Kamala Harris is a miserable, childless cat lady. I need to do more research about that, but apparently it has just resurfaced, and I’ve already seen celebrities like Jennifer Aniston and Rosie O’Donnell on Instagram criticising him for those comments.
I hope she wins. I don’t know what to believe about her; Fox says she is a serious leftie, but I like that about her. I like that she supports a universal basic income, which is something I would love to get passionate about in life.
