Change

Tonight was mind-boggling and history making.

At the beginning of this elections process, I wanted Hillary. I liked Hillary and I have no reason not to like her now. I didn't know about Obama, I didn't know his history, his politics, or anything else for that matter. And then he took this country by a storm. I am a fairly firm democrat, but I hung back, I waited. I wanted to see what Obama and McCain both had to say.

Four years ago, I liked McCain. He was a maverick in a great many ways and I respected his history in both the military and in politics. It was in this election that he erred. He pandered to the religious right, he picked a joke of a VP candidate, and he became mean. So then I had to take a harder look at Obama. I still don't think he has the experience, but I do think Biden does. There were also quite a few of his policies I do like. I'll not discuss them overly much here as now we'll wait and see what happens.

What is interesting is being in this city and with people who care. For the elections that I've been able to vote in, I honestly haven't much cared. Of course, I exercised my right to vote, but the results? I could wait to read them the next morning. I sat with a group of people tonight and we discussed politics, we laughed, we ate, we drank, and we watched. Hours flew by because the company good and the race was better. I enjoyed watching with this group of people and don't think I could have ever imagined sitting on a couch watching election results when I have a 20 page paper to complete, readings for class, and a weekly write-up.

That being said, I am now home and watching a different race. The race of the propositions in California. I stayed a California voter for a few reasons, the main one being that I knew I would need to make my vote count and it would count in California. There are two propositions that I am passionate about and continue to watch, in some amount of fear, and think about why they matter.

First there is Proposition 8. Proposition 8 would create a constitutional amendment that makes marriage only between a man and a woman. I've had many a discussion about this particular proposition. I am a firm believer in equality, therefore I voted NO. We may never reach complete equality, but that should not stop us from trying. Let me list out some of the Yes arguments and why I disagree with them.
*Protectmarriage.com tries to say that Prop 8 does not discriminate against gays, "it simply restores the meaning of marriage". I would have to thoroughly disagree. Of course it discriminates against homosexual people. It makes them not equal. It puts them into a lower class of their own. You can sit there and blabber about civil union all day long, but it is NOT the same.
*Protectmarriage.com tries to say that Prop 8 will require teachers to explicitely teach that marriage is between x and x and y and y. This is not so. If marriage is taught in the classroom, then it can simply be taught as, "Well, marriage is when two people fall in love and choose to make it permanent".
*Protectmarriage.com tries to say that Prop 8 does not interfere with "gays living the lifestyle they choose". Well, yes, it does. If they want to get married and have that outwardly sign of commitment, then they aren't able to do so under this proposition.
*A family member (whom I once thought was socially liberal and found out otherwise with this proposition) mentioned that the state shouldn't be up in our private business. Well, then, why would you be voting yes on a constitutional amendment which would keep the state all up in our private business?
*Another family member (rather religious) mentioned that Christians love the sinner, but hate the sin. Well, instead of tramping on their parade, why not create equality? The Bible can say all day long that laying with a man is wrong, but not everybody follows this religion. Not only that, but... what about creating a different option? One that works for both this and the previous argument. What if you vote NO on this proposition and then create another one? One that says all unions are civil unions and the word "marriage" has no place in the constitution, period, as it is a construction of religion and religion has no place in politics.

I'm sitting here now, 33% of precints have reported in and the Yes vote is up by 53% to 47%. Most counties are voting Yes. They are voting for discrimination and prejudice. It blows me away that we've just elected a Black president and this is the result of proposition 8 so far? There is a reason why it is called Proposition Ha8te. Regardless of your reasoning, this country was built for the purposes of equality, granted, that didn't always happen. But since the inception of this country, change and the striving for equality has occurred. I can no longer consider California a democratic state if it votes Yes on this prop. We used to be at the forefront of change and now? We're simply mediocre. If prop 8 passes, I'll be ashamed of the state and of its constituents.

And then there's prop 4. Which essentially states that legal guardians are to be notified 48 hours in advance of a minor's abortion. This is another hot button topic for me. I'm not going to get into the why's and how's and my decision to be pro-choice, but I'm upset about a few things. In a discussion about this topic with a young, Christian, white male, it really hit home for me what neo-conservatism is, what religion to the point of prejudice and alientation is and I just was blown away. I asked him what would happen should he have a daughter, what would happen if she were raped, got pregnant, but couldn't stand the thought of bearing the child? Because it is a child made of hate and not of love? He responded that if his daughter really didn't want the child, then she would have to have it, but give it up for adoption.

I was frankly horrified. And upset. I cried over this fictitious girl, knowing that there are a great many like her out there (having been a crisis counselor, I've talked to my share). These young ladies feel alienated from their families, feel like they have nowhere to go, and the consequences to such despair can be drastic.

I took a step back for a moment and thought of my own parents, not of my extended family as I'm not entirely certain how supportive any of them would be in certain situations, but my parents. I've never had to come to them with a situation like this, but I can think of a young girl who wants an abortion, but feels alienated. I can think of my own self in context of having my hearing impairment, having a disability. Never have my parents said I was an abomination, never have my parents implied that I'm being punished (or in the case of abortion, are a sinner for considering it), never have my parents done anything but encourage me to make the best decisions I possibly can with the most information at my fingertips. I realized again tonight how lucky I am to have such an open and inviting parental unit, one that may have their prejudices, but don't let them affect their relationships with each other, friends, and most of all, me.

I hope that any family members that I have, any friends that I have, know that I would try to be open, that I will listen to what you have to say and then discuss options. I'm not going to push anything on anybody, nor would I encourage abortion--it's a huge and incredibly emotional decision that I wouldn't wish on anybody, but the option is there. I would hope that they'd realize I will always love them, that I won't turn them away.

As I sit here, No on Prop 4 is ahead in the reporting and I hope it stays that way.

I realize this is a more serious blog than one I have written, but I'm angry. I'm angry that people think it is okay to allow religion to rule politics, I'm angry that people think it is okay to not allow equality, I'm angry that people think it is okay to deny love to someone because they are different than you or offer a different opinion.

I hope in the coming years we do see change. That we see change that allows for all people to have the opportunity to be of the same status.

Change can happen and I believe it started tonight.