By Rebecca W Parry 

‘Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free. The wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door!’ – inscribed on the base of the US Statue of Liberty, welcoming all who arrive to New York’s harbor.

I recited these words at age 15 as our family slide show concluded. We had just returned from our father’s sabbatical year abroad. That my country welcomed those seeking a new life from oppression, poverty or political violence in such a way stirred me with pride. It gave me empathy in the understanding of the circumstances by which others arrive on our American shores. We are ‘the melting pot’ of cultures, and our Constitution enshrines basic human rights with the promise of freedom and protection.

Since 1990, I have been a South African permanent resident living in Cape Town. Our family of four have voted by Absentee ballot for the Democratic Party presidential candidate, current Vice President Kamala Harris, and her Vice-Presidential running mate, current Minnesota Governor Tim Walz. They were the obvious choice to provide strong and empathic leadership as they both bring many years of dedicated service to both community and country.  

Our mainstream and social media have been filled with startling images from their opponents, former President Donald Trump and Senator JD Vance. One cannot help being both fascinated and repelled by the bizarre and ever more debased nature of their remarks. There is a common theme: the rich kid who’s the schoolyard bully can get away with anything.

We all know about the violent Jan 6 insurrection protesting the election certification to prop up Trump’s ‘Big Lie’ that he won in 2020 instead of President Joe Biden. Trump showed a complete lack of empathy by watching TV coverage of Capitol police being assaulted and Congresspeople in hiding for hours before calling off his ‘mob’. Trump, 78, was raised in wealth, took over his father’s real estate company and then filed bankruptcy multiple times before rising to TV stardom. Convicted of 34-felony state fraud counts, he is described as a sociopathic narcissist incapable of empathy or remorse who has an affinity for authoritarian world leaders. His top priority is to deport 11 million immigrants. This clampdown is a cruel and insensitive affront to families and migrant labour.

Kamala Harris, 60, began her career as a federal prosecutor in California, then served as its Attorney General, US Senator and Vice President. From a middle-class family with immigrant parents (her mother, a breast cancer researcher from India; her father, an economics professor from Jamaica), Harris will focus on strengthening the middle class. Her administration goals include giving financial assistance to first-time homebuyers, raising taxes on the wealthy, building 3-million houses, restoring women’s reproductive rights, expanding child tax credits, passing a bipartisan border security bill, enacting gun control legislation and tackling consumer price-gouging.

Personally, though, who is Kamala Harris? Besides her professional experience, there is far more to her. Her mother showed the benefits of living within a neighbourhood community who supported and nurtured one another. Kamala and her younger sister, Maya, have written a children’s picture book, Kamala and Maya’s Big Idea, remembering when they transformed their apartment courtyard into a beautiful neighbourhood playground. Harris has also written two non-fiction books as well as her own children’s story, Superheroes are Everywhere.

Having graduated from the historically black Howard University, Washington DC in political science and economics, Harris earned her law degree from the University of California. Those who know her best highlight her ability to listen, to have fun and enjoy creative outlets such as cooking or playing games and puzzles with her nieces. Her blended family of husband, Doug Emhoff, young adult stepchildren, Cole and Ella, and their mother, Kerstin, are the heart of her life. She has a daily gym workout and enjoys jazz and rap music and has inherited her mother’s infectious laugh.

Tim Walz, 60, served in the US National Guard for 24 years before becoming a high school teacher and football coach where he not only volunteered in the school cafeteria but was the faculty advisor for the LGBTQ+ club. An avid hunter, he is married to Gwen, also a teacher, and they are a close-knit family with a young adult daughter and son. He served as a US Congressman before becoming Minnesota’s governor. It is his best accomplishment to have rolled out a free school breakfast and lunch program for all in his state.

Kamala Harris has stated that ‘the bottom line is that we know what Donald Trump wants: he wants unchecked power. The question is: what do the American people want?’ The Harris-Walz ticket is the best option that cares enough about America to lead the country forward.

Rebecca W Parry lives in Cape Town since 1990 with her husband, Charles. A clinical psychologist, English tutor and Pennsylvania Absentee voter. Loves library volunteering, her Anglican church, two adult kids, but her favourite role is 'Nana' to 2-yr old grandson, Benjamin.