What at this point, to me, seems so unfair is how unhappy I felt Tuesday night. The election of Barack Obama is one of the most important events in my life, if not the most important, and it was a victory in which I invested more time and energy than any election so far. The people in the Kansas City office are the most incredible collection of folks I've every had the plesure of getting to know, and I believe President Obama will bring us together will literally save our country. His overcoming of the racial barriers is incredible, and has already made great strides towards improving our nation's sadly impoverished reputation throughout the world. And Obama's policies and positions are highly in sync with mine, perhaps more so than any viable candidate in American history.
So why am I sad? I'm sad because it seems that Prop 8 will win. After a long and brutally fought (especially nasty on the Yes side) campaign, there's little left to say. If Barack Obama's election is democracy at it's best, then the success of Prop 8 is democracy at it's worst; it is tyranny of the majority. A well-funded, entrenched group used fear-mongering and demagoguery to strip the rights of a minority of citizens.
While this blow is staggering, I can't help but be optimistic. There is a huge age gap in support for same-sex marriage, and history is on our side. As Dr. King said, the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends towards justice. We have a long fight ahead, but there is a clear light at the end of this tunnel.
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