Apostle Paul was not crazy when he said, “Do not let anyone look down upon you because you are young, but set an example to others…”
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez must have listened to the advise of Paul as she has now made history in America becoming, the youngest woman to be elected to Congress for New York’s 14th Disrtict at only 29 years.
Ms. Alexandria was elected overwhelmingly with close to 75% of votes tallied.
Ocasio-Cortez defeated New York Democratic Rep. Joe Crowley in the primary election earlier this year, a victory that was considered a stunner making her a national political figure.
The 29-year-old Latina, Ocasio-Cortez is part of a groundbreaking wave of women of color who are set to join Congress this term, including Sharice Davids and Ilhan Omar. The youngest member of Congress helped campaign for a swath of other progressive candidates, including Ayanna Pressley, who’s also captured her Massachusetts district.
“Women like me aren’t supposed to run for office,” Ocasio-Cortez said in one of her campaign videos. Today she has disapproved this cycle, it’s clear they can win.
Ahead of the primary, Ocasio-Cortez worked as a bartender at a Mexican restaurant in New York City’s Union Square before she earned an endorsement from President Barack Obama early in October.
“This is what is possible when everyday people come together in the collective realization that all our actions, no matter how small or how large, are powerful, worthwhile and capable of lasting change,” Ocasio-Cortez said in her victory speech.
“And that’s exactly what this is. Not a campaign or an election day, but a movement, a larger movement for social, economic and racial justice in America,” she added.
Ocasio-Cortez identified the policies she intends to target in office which include: abolishing Immigration and Customs Enforcement, student loan debt, which she said is a ticking time bomb for America’s economy and finally the role of money in politics.
“There is never any fight that is too big for us to pick. We proved that this year. Because, in the wealthiest nation in the history of the world, our greatest scarcity is not a lack of resources but the absence of political courage and moral imagination,” said Alexandria.
America should consider it a privilege to have young people in Congress representing them which is different to the narrative here in Kenya where we have old men and women in suits talking about “youth problems” they know nothing about.
While we have people like Sakaja Johnson and Babu Owino in positions of power and influence, do you feel like they’re doing anything to represent the youth in Kenya?