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sabAs far as the election triumph, it's occurring to me that my perspective went through a total shift in the last 72 hours.
I realized that my emotional involvement in this election was simple: I just wanted the Democrats to win one, after all these years.
And yes we DID win a Presidential race! And yes we DID get a Congressional majority. And yes we DID show the world that the country's finally wised up to the need for a president who believes in democracy, who believes in fighting global warming and working for universal health care, who will try to undo the last eight years of stupidity, who has a head on his shoulders, who has compassion, who has savvy.
And right now it's all of a sudden that shift from WE MUST WIN THIS ELECTION OR ELSE (which for me, and for many Democrats I know it WAS), from "I need to know that this is not the country of bigots and evangelists and war opportunists; I need to know that this is my America too," to a whole new set of hopes and fears for an Obama administration.
The political label I like to use for myself is "progressive," but I'm also a Democratic party loyalist, for the duration of the two-party system. And -- sidebar -- one of the factors that contributed to Obama's victory was the fact that he picked up the demographic priorly known as "Nader voters." Even the most liberal hippie marked his touchscreen for Obama this year; it's nearly as revolutionary as a third-party candidate with like a 100% better chance of winning.
So now there are two things going on; the Democrats have reclaimed Washington and have a massive amount of damage to undo, and I believe that President Obama is committed to alleviating some of the things that made our country miserable over the last 8 years. Also, we have our first black president, which is a milestone long overdue and means that my sister's kids, growing up in East Oakland, will get a chance to see themselves in the face of the President of the United States. Black stereotypes on TV will have to change, political cartoonists will have to learn a new language, and, with any luck, the powerful voice of black democratic constituents will continue to ring out, reminding the country and the rest of the world that we are not lilywhite, and that people from historically disenfranchised demographics have something important to say, and are now legitimized, to some degree, for the opportunity to speak up. I mean, Obama said it himself, and so did Gandhi, I think: We are the change we wish to see in the world.
Point being: the country's consciousness is changing. President Obama's political actions in the White House are only as powerful and as revolutionary as we, the new majority, are willing to be. This was a vote for a Democratic majority as much as it was a vote for Obama, and now there's two very powerful entities with a license to fight back.
And I needed to win that election. If Hillary had been the candidate I would have needed to win the election. Or John Edwards, a Washington insider and white guy -- still a Democrat. I needed to see the country turn blue again and needed the world to know that we're not all crazy arrogant Jesus freaks. And YES WE DID DO THAT, YES WE SURE-AS-HECK DID.
So, you know, thank you, President Obama, for mobilizing and inspiring the Democrats, and, more importantly, thank you Dems, and moderates, and people who are ready for change, and people who witnessed Bush's damage and said "no more!" for coming together to let us win one, for a change.
YES WE DID, more than 61% of us, loudly and in force. A president-elect is just the prize we get for finally coming together and speaking out. Four years of, hopefully, wisdom and diplomacy are our project next.
And me, it's time for me to stop thinking of Obama as a candidate and this election as an opportunity to be heard; time to start thinking about an Obama administration and the economy, environmental crisis, foreign oil dependence, global respect, &c, &c, &c.
And re: Prop 8; over here it's been a vitriolic money-throwing fight all summer -- really all year. Vote For Equality calls me almost every day asking me to volunteer/phone bank/contribute, and they called me again yesterday, ready to mobilize and picket against the assholes who voted to "protect" "marriage" from... whatever marriage's natural enemy is (I think it's Vegas. Can we insert a constitutional amendment to ban wedding chapels and drunk teenagers and most of southern Nevada?). Still whirling from the national election, I told them I couldn't help right now but would get back on board shortly. Yeah, I know it sucks. I am a gay person in California. My sister is an even gayer person in California. But it's just; as much as I hate bigotry and legitimately don't understand (I mean, really, really don't understand) what the word "marriage" is so afraid of, and why OTHER words don't get constitutional amendments protecting them, and how our big gay founding fathers are tossing and turning together in their graves at the humiliation -- I fail to consider it a dealbreaker. I mean, first off, I trust California and its commitment not to surrender to one stupid vote, but secondly -- it's marriage. It's an elective, unlike global warming and the economy and health care, which are life-sustaining issues. The semantic difference between marriage and civil unions is an important one in the fight for equality and the end of bigotry against gay people (which is of course in itself a crucially important fight and one -- like a black president -- which is way, way past its time) but I am so much more worried about why I can't afford my medication or a car or how many years we have until the next ice age or whether my parents have enough money to get through their retirement.
I promise, promise to get back into the gay marriage fight again soon. But this week, it's a hit I'm willing to take for the team. The fact that prop 4 was overturned (that's parental notification for abortions) was actually even more important to me.
I think I'm prioritizing practical matters over ideological ones in this election, after the eight years of damage we've received.
Anyway, this post is more for me than for you, for later when we're feeling ideologically hopeful in an Obama administration and can speak out for our civil rights in a forum where there's a greater chance we'll be heard...
Today, two days after the election and 75 days till Inauguration, I'm just happy there's a greater chance we'll survive the next four years healthy enough to fight for our rights at all.
I realized that my emotional involvement in this election was simple: I just wanted the Democrats to win one, after all these years.
And yes we DID win a Presidential race! And yes we DID get a Congressional majority. And yes we DID show the world that the country's finally wised up to the need for a president who believes in democracy, who believes in fighting global warming and working for universal health care, who will try to undo the last eight years of stupidity, who has a head on his shoulders, who has compassion, who has savvy.
And right now it's all of a sudden that shift from WE MUST WIN THIS ELECTION OR ELSE (which for me, and for many Democrats I know it WAS), from "I need to know that this is not the country of bigots and evangelists and war opportunists; I need to know that this is my America too," to a whole new set of hopes and fears for an Obama administration.
The political label I like to use for myself is "progressive," but I'm also a Democratic party loyalist, for the duration of the two-party system. And -- sidebar -- one of the factors that contributed to Obama's victory was the fact that he picked up the demographic priorly known as "Nader voters." Even the most liberal hippie marked his touchscreen for Obama this year; it's nearly as revolutionary as a third-party candidate with like a 100% better chance of winning.
So now there are two things going on; the Democrats have reclaimed Washington and have a massive amount of damage to undo, and I believe that President Obama is committed to alleviating some of the things that made our country miserable over the last 8 years. Also, we have our first black president, which is a milestone long overdue and means that my sister's kids, growing up in East Oakland, will get a chance to see themselves in the face of the President of the United States. Black stereotypes on TV will have to change, political cartoonists will have to learn a new language, and, with any luck, the powerful voice of black democratic constituents will continue to ring out, reminding the country and the rest of the world that we are not lilywhite, and that people from historically disenfranchised demographics have something important to say, and are now legitimized, to some degree, for the opportunity to speak up. I mean, Obama said it himself, and so did Gandhi, I think: We are the change we wish to see in the world.
Point being: the country's consciousness is changing. President Obama's political actions in the White House are only as powerful and as revolutionary as we, the new majority, are willing to be. This was a vote for a Democratic majority as much as it was a vote for Obama, and now there's two very powerful entities with a license to fight back.
And I needed to win that election. If Hillary had been the candidate I would have needed to win the election. Or John Edwards, a Washington insider and white guy -- still a Democrat. I needed to see the country turn blue again and needed the world to know that we're not all crazy arrogant Jesus freaks. And YES WE DID DO THAT, YES WE SURE-AS-HECK DID.
So, you know, thank you, President Obama, for mobilizing and inspiring the Democrats, and, more importantly, thank you Dems, and moderates, and people who are ready for change, and people who witnessed Bush's damage and said "no more!" for coming together to let us win one, for a change.
YES WE DID, more than 61% of us, loudly and in force. A president-elect is just the prize we get for finally coming together and speaking out. Four years of, hopefully, wisdom and diplomacy are our project next.
And me, it's time for me to stop thinking of Obama as a candidate and this election as an opportunity to be heard; time to start thinking about an Obama administration and the economy, environmental crisis, foreign oil dependence, global respect, &c, &c, &c.
And re: Prop 8; over here it's been a vitriolic money-throwing fight all summer -- really all year. Vote For Equality calls me almost every day asking me to volunteer/phone bank/contribute, and they called me again yesterday, ready to mobilize and picket against the assholes who voted to "protect" "marriage" from... whatever marriage's natural enemy is (I think it's Vegas. Can we insert a constitutional amendment to ban wedding chapels and drunk teenagers and most of southern Nevada?). Still whirling from the national election, I told them I couldn't help right now but would get back on board shortly. Yeah, I know it sucks. I am a gay person in California. My sister is an even gayer person in California. But it's just; as much as I hate bigotry and legitimately don't understand (I mean, really, really don't understand) what the word "marriage" is so afraid of, and why OTHER words don't get constitutional amendments protecting them, and how our big gay founding fathers are tossing and turning together in their graves at the humiliation -- I fail to consider it a dealbreaker. I mean, first off, I trust California and its commitment not to surrender to one stupid vote, but secondly -- it's marriage. It's an elective, unlike global warming and the economy and health care, which are life-sustaining issues. The semantic difference between marriage and civil unions is an important one in the fight for equality and the end of bigotry against gay people (which is of course in itself a crucially important fight and one -- like a black president -- which is way, way past its time) but I am so much more worried about why I can't afford my medication or a car or how many years we have until the next ice age or whether my parents have enough money to get through their retirement.
I promise, promise to get back into the gay marriage fight again soon. But this week, it's a hit I'm willing to take for the team. The fact that prop 4 was overturned (that's parental notification for abortions) was actually even more important to me.
I think I'm prioritizing practical matters over ideological ones in this election, after the eight years of damage we've received.
Anyway, this post is more for me than for you, for later when we're feeling ideologically hopeful in an Obama administration and can speak out for our civil rights in a forum where there's a greater chance we'll be heard...
Today, two days after the election and 75 days till Inauguration, I'm just happy there's a greater chance we'll survive the next four years healthy enough to fight for our rights at all.
