So yesterday I was all I don't talk politics on my blog and today, well let's talk politics.
We have a new president-elect and he brought tears to my eyes with his speech last night. I feel like I can say proudly that I am an American citizen. The phrase is unfamiliar and doesn't roll off my tongue easily, but I'm sure with time I'll become much more comfortable with it.
And McCain's concession speech? It was moving as well. To hear him congratulate Obama and sound like he sincerely meant it, was incredible. When he asked his supporters to offer the same respect and support to Obama that he will in the coming months and to remember that we are all fellow Americans, it made me believe that our country might just have a chance to heal and reconnect as one united front.
And while Obama's win made the night unbelievably amazing, the fact that California voted yes on Prop 8 also made the night unbelievably disheartening.
On a night when we voted in our first minority president, we took a right away from another minority group. And no matter how you feel about same sex couples, we can not start taking rights away from citizens. The fact that we can take away the right with only 52% of the vote is unacceptable. And don't even get me started on the fact that California residents care more about farm animals than their fellow humans. It is so mind numbingly ridiculous that I'm not certain I can apply words to it without them all being expletive.
To my friends in same sex relationships, I'm so sorry. I am embarrassed by California's actions, especially by the fact that other minority groups played a big part in taking away your right to marry whomever you want. Other minority groups that have had to fight for equal rights of their own in the past. I know I'm only one person but in my eyes, you and your spouse are still a family. The state may not legally recognize your union, but I do. Let's not allow this be the end of the fight for your equality.
Well said. Proud of my country; disappointed in my state.
ReplyDeleteBeautifully put Regan.
ReplyDeleteI agree, so sad about prop 8. I just don't get it, but there is a comment on the thin green line blog that said that the nos didn't advertise well. But beyond that, it shows the hate that people have in them, it's horrible. Hopefully it can be rectified, and soon, I have a daughter to raise in this world....
Don't know how much of this is true, but I heard on a political radio show that part of the reason of the Prop 8 failure was that Utah based Mormons poured in money to fight it. This is really sickening considering 1) their own checkered past with marriage - what, now they're the authority on who should marry who??? 2) they feel a need to impose their religion upon everyone else 3) They feel the need to influence law outside of their own state 4) prejudice and bigotry thrive in a religious culture that supposedly preaches love and forgiveness.
ReplyDeleteYes, the Mormon church poured a lot of money into the campaign, as did Focus on the Family, and all our other regular religious friends. I gather that one of the things that happened is that the no on 8 campaign was caught unprepared when there was suddenly a tremendous amount of money in the yes campaign, being used to put up advertising all over the place. The no campaign did a huge effort to catch up in funding and eventually did, but by that point the damage had been done: before the yes campaign's advertising campaign started (which was often misleading or outright lied), the polls showed prop 8 fairly clearly losing.
ReplyDeleteAt the end, over $73 million was spent, about equally between both sides. Pretty sad.
There are now court cases in progress to invalidate prop 8 on the grounds that "radical changes to the organizing principles of state government can not be made by simple majority vote:"
http://aclu.org/lgbt/relationships/37706prs20081105.html
More fighting to be done.