A sad day for equality

In all of the awe that was the election of Barack Obama, let us not overlook that while one group was seeing a major milestone in their long fight for equality, another group was being pushed back. Three states voted to alter their constitution to define marriage as being between a man and a woman. I must shake my head in shame at the thought of this.

Regardless of what you think about gay marriage, discrimination must never be written into any constitution. This country has spent more than 120 years chipping away at discrimination and slowly bringing about the equality that we are so proud of. It is an ongoing struggle to make sure that no one in this country is left behind, yet the vote for Proposition 8 shows us that we still have a long way to go.

I am especially dismayed at the exit polling which showed that 70% of African-Americans that voted in California voted in favor of Proposition 8. Now the African-American turn-out was not large enough for this to be the deciding factor in the decision, but I am very disturbed that a group that has had such a long, hard fight for their own freedom and equality would so easily vote to take such things away from others.

Back in the 1960's, after the Civil Rights Bill was signed, Virginia had laws forbidding interracial marriage. It was actually against the law for a black person to marry a white person. Mainstream society now looks back on this and thinks how crazy it is that there was a time where such laws could exist. But what if such discrimination wasn't stopped? What if such laws continued and spread to other states? Would it have been just a matter of time before Virginia proposed an amendment banning interracial marriage? I am glad we didn't have to find out.

And now here we are in the middle of another battle for equality. This time it is the homosexual community that is wanting equal marriage rights. I have heard arguments that racial equality is different from homosexual equality. As soon as you start to categorize and rank equality, we all lose. Some will argue that gay couples can have civil unions. But does that not just smell an awful lot like 'separate-but-equal'? Are we not risking going down a road that we have already been down?

I am not gay, but my church, Unitarian Universalist, is proud to have gay members. I am proud to be part of a church that has gay members. And, I recognize how dangerous it is to start making laws and amendments that take away rights.

I understand that many people have strong opinions about gay marriage. I am not writing today to try and sway your opinion on that point. My only concern right now is the idea of writing such discrimination into a constitution. When you are faced with such a decision, just try to imagine yourself in 50 years time. Think how far we have come in the last 50 years and think how far we will go in the next 50. Then ask yourself if you want to be remembered as being part of the generation that wrote discrimination into a constitution for the first time ever.

And remember this. To paraphrase Mark Twain, it is a noble thing to fight for one's rights, but it is a far nobler thing to fight for someone else's.

Wow

I always knew this was going to be an historic election. I always knew that Obama was the best man to fix the problems that George W. Bush created. I always knew that this country had an opportunity to say to the world, "the last eight years do not represent who we are." I always knew these things, but I never realized how emotionally affected I would be when the results came in.

My wife and I watch the election returns with the same enthusiasm as if we were watching the Super Bowl. There were lows when the first returns came in and McCain was up 8 to 3. There were highs when Pennsylvania was called for Obama. There were moments of uncertainty when Ohio, Florida, North Carolina, and Virginia became too close to call. For 3 hours we waited for some piece of meaningful news to come in. That came with the news that Ohio was being called for Obama. That was the touchdown that puts you up by 10 points midway through the 4th quarter.

At that moment we celebrated because we knew that the only way for Obama to lose would be for McCain to somehow flip California and several other states. All we needed to do is hold serve and we would win. That last hour was long. The polls in the west closed at 11pm ET. We all knew what the results would be, but until we saw the states colored blue, I was not banking anything.

As it turned out, the final verdict caught me off guard. The polls closed at 11pm and we thought there would be a delay while some votes were tallied. I was surprised when I refreshed the ABC web page and saw California, Oregon, and Washington all blue. It was over. The news then broke on TV that Barack Obama was the President. That was the final whistle. The game was over. For 4 years Heather and I have been following Barack Obama hoping he would run, hoping he would be nominated, and hoping he would win. At least we had relief.

At first, I was struck by the joy of our candidate winning. This was the first time I ever wholeheartedly backed a candidate. To have that candidate win was so exciting. It was only later that the true significance of this candidate being the first African-American President really hit me.

I was moved when I saw the crowds in Chicago and New York. I was choked up when I saw the people in Kenya watching the results. And I teared up when I heard Barack Obama speak about the 106 year old woman who voted. As he described all she had seen and experienced in her years, it really struck me how far we have come. We are not perfect, but just look what has happened in our lifetimes.

The next day, was even more emotional. Nothing struck me more than seeing a clip of Sherry on the View talking about her son and how he would have no limitations. Just typing it gets my emotions moving again. Never again will a black child have to believe that there is anything they cannot do. Never again will a black child, or a child of any race, that grows up without a father be held back because of their family structure. The most powerful man in the world is a black man. The most powerful man in the world was raised without a father present. The most powerful man in the world is an example of what anyone, and I mean ANYONE, in this country can do if you apply yourself and believe in a brighter future.

One thing I want to be clear about. Barack Obama was not elected because he was a black man. Barack Obama was not elected because the country was 'ready for a black president'. Barack Obama was elected because he was the best man for the job. His race, religion, and upbringing are simply characteristics of the man. What makes me the most proud right now is that this country was able to see him as a man and as the better man for this job and not let preconceived notions and prejudices cloud the issue.

In so many ways, our country turned a corner this week. We said we want to fix the economy. We said we want to be the respected world leader that we used to be. We said we want to continue the march towards better days. We said we want to once again be that beckon of hope to the rest of the world. We said we are able to look beyond the superficial and see the heart of the man.

Today, I have pride in my country that I have not felt since the days following 9/11. I see the world rallying around us in a way that I have not seen since the days of 9/11. We often wonder what would have happened if George W. Bush had not squandered the international goodwill that we were graced with after 9/11. We now have an opportunity to get it right.

This is a great day for the United States of America. Be proud of where you live. Be proud of how far we have come. And be hopeful for where we can go. Take some time and soak in this moment.

Take the time now because reality has a way of forcing its way back into all situations.