On Proposition 8, a little late

Please excuse the rhyme. I just watched this video again, and I feel like singing show tunes:



How many years do you think it'll be before we look back on these hateful decisions to continue banning gay marriage the way we now look back on the Civil Rights movement?

There's probably five people left who think that ending segregation was a bad ahead, and they all live in Mississippi. I don't doubt that the situation will be quite similar with gay marriage, hopefully in my lifetime. After all, look at all the changes that have already occurred in our parents'. Ah, progress. I criticize our country at times for moving too fast, but this is one issue where I want to speed right along.

I read two great reactions to the California Supreme Court's decision that I have to share.

• "The Big Gay Shrug" by columnist Mark Morford
  
• "The Big Gay Chip on My Shoulder" by singer Rob Thomas

Quite different stylistically, though similar in their anger. And we should be angered. We should be outraged, in fact. To ostracize a group strictly based on their sexual orientation is to regress so shamefully--it's saying that a characteristic or situation that a person is born with or in is worthy of discrimination. Well that sounds awfully familiar...

I wish everyone would remember: None of us are free until all of us are free.

In Memory

I won't lie; I generally consider Memorial Day to be a bonus day added to my weekend, rather than a holiday designed to honor our nation's military. Usually, I'm just about as grateful for the day off as I am for their services.

And, to be honest, I treated this one like all the rest. I lounged around, played Solitaire, and made progress on my epically-long room cleaning extravaganza.

Then I read this article. Thoughtfully composed and beautifully written, this piece about fallen soldiers caused me to stop and think about those who have risked (and lost) their lives so I could complete the banal task of artfully arranging my food studies books.

So thank you. I mean it. I hope to someday defend your rights as you have defended mine. (Though not with a gun, because we all know that would not turn out well.)

The Day of Snow-bama

Chills ran down my spine today, and not just because of the snow and sub-freezing temperatures.

We officially have our first black president. I shivered as he called upon the heroes of our past - Abraham Lincoln, Martin Luther King, Jr. - to help him lead the way to a more hopeful tomorrow. He has the power to inspire a nation, and he's already done that for so many. I can't wait for more.

And yes, in a day of epic events, it snowed in North Carolina.

Oh Yes, We Did

Well, I'm a little delayed in my response, but better late than never.

Even as I was experiencing the present tense on Tuesday night, I already felt like I was living through a moment in history; like we were all there as actors, recreating a defining election day for our country.

It is as though the mental picture I took of the immense crowd on Franklin Street has already been immortalized in U.S. History textbooks. I don't know, maybe it has.

I'm looking forward to seeing what the future holds. There will be little room for error, but there is also so much room for hope. We lost that hope for awhile, but here it is again. With Obama lies possibility and opportunity, the thought that "if we can do this, than we can do anything."

Already, our president-elect has become an icon. Perhaps with time his face will become synonymous with the red, white and blue of the American flag.

It's time for us to accept a new color anyway.

A small step for the GOP, a huge step backwards for ME (and all American women)

Okay, I swear I'm not making the transition to a political blog. And I'm also aware of the fact that I'm over a week late in responding to McCain's V.P. pick. But I do give myself credit for waiting long enough to learn about Palin before passing judgment. Now I feel entitled.

I am absolutely horrified by her representation of women. Actually, it bothers me that her sex is a huge deal in the first place. Shouldn't her political policies be more important than her vagina? I thought we'd moved past this discrimination, folks. Then, with all of the issues being raised about how Palin raises her children, it's become clear that sex is still ever-so-important. Child rearing is rarely called into question when male politicians are involved.

What does bother me about the way she's raised her children, however, are her hypocritical beliefs. She said Bristol had a choice about whether or not to have her child. That's funny, because while Bristol had a choice, Palin's rigid pro-life doctrine wouldn't allow others that decision. I also feel quite certain that not all young women are fortunate enough to grow up in a supportive environment with the sufficient funds to raise a child. And clearly Palin's belief in abstinence-only education failed too. If it doesn't work with the daughter she raised for the past 17 years, how will other women be more receptive?

I guess what bothers me most is how eerily 1984/Fahrenheit 451-esque the situation has become. Trying to fire a librarian for not taking books Palin didn't agree with out of the library? Believing that the Iraq war and an oil pipeline in Alaska are God's missions? I'm sorry, but I don't want that God, nor anyone who believes in that God, to run our country.

The truth is, I'm terrified of what's to come. I can't imagine living in a virtual theocracy; the very thought makes my ovaries cringe. And yet I also fear what could happen to Obama if he won. At a time when my faith in America was finally being restored, I can't say I'm optimistic.