The Day After Yesterday

Last night I felt something I haven't felt in a long, long time: pride in our country. I actually felt proud to be an American. I felt optimistic about our future. I cried tears of joy when listening to Barack Obama deliver his acceptance speech, completely inspired and in awe of the historical significance of it all.

Again, a few words from my friend Kelly:

It's the day after yesterday and there is a clear difference in the 7 million people who decided the fate of America and perhaps the world. The crowd in Grant Park didn't boo when McCain's name was mentioned. People in an overpriced spa resort did. The crowd in Grant Park was young, old, black, white, latino, asian, seasoned and virgin campaign operatives. In AZ, old white people with mouthes agape.

It's the day after yesterday, and they're going to need help. Let's have more class than those who have been in power for the past 8 years. They'll need a tutorial on compassion, faith, hope, optimism, perserverance, friendship, and maybe even a second (or first) read of that old, dusty Constitution. A friend wanted a list of promises Obama has made on the stump and their due dates. The first promise I heard was change and hope.

It's the day after yesterday and we've accomplished something already.

We have accomplished so much already, but there is still a long way to go. After the high of last night came the low this morning when I read that California's Proposition 8 will most likely pass. I read this news with much anger and sadness and as much as I kept trying to re-capture the feeling of hope I had last night, I couldn't shake my disappointment.

How can the majority of Californians support the rights of chickens to have more room in their coops (Prop 2, which was passed 63% to 37%) but not find it in their hearts to believe that a loving same-sex couple deserves the same right to marry as a loving heterosexual couple?

Though there is much hope to be found in the advanced research and more recent findings of Faith over at That's So Queer, it is still disturbing to know that so many people voted in favor of this proposition. I just don't understand how love is ever a bad thing.

But then I saw this video of the mayor of San Deigo from a few days ago and a bit of hope returned to me. A lot of hope, in fact. And the tears. They returned too.



Change and hope? Not always easy, but definitely worth fighting for. Because eventually, even if it takes time, change and hope lead to positive things.