I kept up with stateside campaign activity while I was in London using Zoom and remote studios for appearances. And while I was experiencing one of the most beautiful things in life, the darkest aspect of politics was ramming us pretty much every day. The negativity, the smears, the caricatures that my campaign has attracted have been brutal. They have broken my heart at times, but not my spirit.
The problem is, they break the bank.
We need to have enough money to run an effective campaign, but the hits that we take - on social media, in political rags and so forth - have a way of sowing just enough doubt to undermine our support. If you’re tried in a court of law, there are rules of due process; your own lawyer gets to cross-examine the witnesses against you, present evidence and so forth. But when you’re tried in the media, anyone can say anything, anyone can conclude anything…and believe me, they do!
So heading back to the States, walking through Heathrow airport on my way to the plane, I began to wonder if continuing is even feasible. I admit I was feeling pretty defeated, praying for an answer as I walked through Heathrow Terminal Two.
Then an interesting thing happened. As I turned a corner, a beautiful young woman looked at me and said, “Excuse me, but are you Marianne Williamson?” She told me she’s a big fan, spoke enthusiastically about the campaign and said sweetly that she will vote for me.
But then she said something else that really grabbed me. “I’ve been backpacking through Europe for a month,” she said. “I was lying on a beach in Italy with some American friends when one of them said, ‘The only thing that gives me hope right now is Marianne Williamson’s presidential campaign.’”
My new friend couldn’t have known what hearing this meant to me right at that moment. Quite a few people have been saying to me recently, “You’ve got to keep going, Marianne!!” I’ve been told that it’s early, that people are just starting to think about all this, that the campaign is impacting the ethers and we have to continue. But a campaign is an emotional roller coaster. Hearing about that young person’s comment on the beach just when I had been saying a pretty sad and desperate prayer for guidance, had a meaning for me that felt deep and important.
Now I’m asking that you to please look into your heart, too.
