By Tamika Hamilton, Congressional candidate for California’s 3rd District

It’s been a year, hasn’t it? Nobody was really expecting all that has come our way during 2020. As much as we like to believe we’re ready for anything, the hurts and disappointments this past year were truly beyond the scope of anything anyone expected to see. Then again, coping with reality is often harsher than we expect.   If there is a silver lining to this year, perhaps it’s the newfound knowledge that when real troubles come, when real loss hits home, we’re also capable of coping with more than expected.

As we dealt with this year, we’re also learning some valuable lessons in humility. We see we’re really not so prepared to just roll with life’s punches, when the punches come so hard and so fast. We gained humility to understand that no matter how well we plan, nor how carefully we prepare, some things are simply beyond our control, and our fate rests in the hands of our Creator. We have lost some innocence, gained some sadness, but we are the wiser for it. As we realize that perhaps we don’t have so much going on as we thought, our newfound humility will helps us accept the weakness of others, just as we accept our own weaknesses as they’ve been revealed to us. Acceptance of each other, as we are, is more important than ever. 

This year, we he have suffered more than disease. Springing from the stress of uncertainty and imposed confinements, we have seen our fellow Americans take to the streets. So many have been overcome with frustration that still, so many of us, too many of us, are being denied full participation in the American Dream. We can, and we must accept this cause as just, even as we don’t accept the violence and destruction brought into our fold by those sadly determined to divide.

Yes, it’s been a troubled year, but our country is not falling into a tailspin of despair. We the people are going to come out of this better than we went in. We have suffered losses. I lost my campaign for Congress, but that loss pales in comparison to those who have lost so much more. I can, and I will run for office again, but the losses of so many aren’t so easily overcome. Loss of jobs, of businesses, of family wealth, of personal health, loss of loved ones. Each of us has been touched by misfortune in some way. Now is the time for loving, for support, for validation, for accepting each other.

Let us take hope in what’s to come. For life will go on, even if not in the ways we expect it should. In the days ahead, as we celebrate the season that marks the birth of our savior, the miracles humanity still enjoys, our strength to endure, the beginning of the New Year, and the special power of humanity to give, we shall keep hope alive, even after we’ve lost so much.

  Tamika Hamilton votetamika.org

ABOUT TAMIKA:

Tamika Hamilton was born in Calvert County, Maryland, in 1984. Estranged from her father and born to an underage mother, Tamika was raised by her loving grandparents, who were military veterans and farmers by trade, whom she credits with instilling in her the importance of public service.

Upon graduating from high school, Tamika enlisted in the United States Air Force, where she served on active duty for over 14 years. She deployed twice to the Middle East in support of Operation Enduring Freedom, the United States Global War on Terror.

Tamika and her husband, Ray Hamilton, live in Dixon, California, with their four children Kaedyn, Gabriella, Ryan, and Beau. Ray is also a veteran (US Navy) and continues their family’s public service as a local police officer. Both Ray and Tamika are active in their local church and volunteer with local community groups. Tamika’s experience with her homeless ministry, particularly her work with homeless veterans, is what motivated her to take a stand for her community and run for Congress.

Tamika’s district is a very dynamic and diverse cross-section of California with farming, viniculture, urban population centers, and two Air Force bases. As a candidate for office, she is focused on core issues that will impact the daily lives of her constituents