I, like many Americans, thrilled in the election of Barack Obama last night. It was an emotional night of joy in his victory, in America's victory. But the presidential election was not the only fight on my mind. As President-elect Obama took the stand to deliver his acceptance speech, 20% of Californian precincts were reporting and Prop 8 was showing a 12% lead. It was a bitter-sweet moment.
I stayed up until 4am in hopes of seeing the tide turn and Prop 8 be struck down. There was a moment of hope as the lead dropped to a mere 4%, but the gap failed to close further. And here we are, 11:32 pm on the night of November 5th. Prop 8 has passed and same-sex marriage has been banned in California by constitutional amendment.
As I drove around running errands this morning I was happy for Obama's victory, but sad for the passing of Prop 8. But then I began to think about what had happened. I took hope. In 2000, California passed Proposition 22, which led to the definition of marriage as a man and a woman. Proposition 22 passed by a margin of 22%. Eight years later, Proposition 8 comes before the electorate and wins by 4%. Clearly, the winds are changing.
I examined the demographic information of voters, provided by CNN's website. Only 39% of people between the ages of 18 and 29 voted in favor of the proposition. With each passing year, more and more open-minded youth enter the electorate. Also, more and more people come to the conclusion that discrimination based upon sexual preference is wrong. In 2000, if I had lived in California, I would have voted in favor of Proposition 22. My views have changed a lot in the past eight years, and I'm not the only one.
We have not seen the end of same-sex marriage. California will vote on this again in 2010 or 2012 or 2016. It may take a few years, but time is on our side. Eventually same-sex marriage will be legalized, and it won't be long. I suspect that my grandchildren will look back with surprise that there was an era when people looked at homosexuals any differently than heterosexuals.
A tree can push against the wind for only so long before it snaps and gives way. The winds are blowing and they don't appear to be letting up anytime soon.
Tragedy and Kitsch
5 hours ago
5 comments:
Hehe your analogy reminds me of what Andy says on the office about wearing down women until they concede...hehehe Thats awesome.
It is amazing how many variables there are in every situation. Another statistic shown was that African-Americans overwhelmingly voted for prop 8. Maybe it would not have passed this year had Obama not ran for president. Then again Obama also brought out much of the younger generation so maybe it would have been a stronger vote for yes if he had not run.
I find your tree and wind analogy a bit confusing. I have definitely heard of the "winds of change" before but to relate it to the breaking of a tree seems odd. I don't think of a tree as undesirable. To me it is representative of something stable, of nature, of strength, of growth. It reminds me of God, of beauty, and the need to protect our environment. While I see how I might relate this to prop 8, I don't see how you do.
One should take care to not read too much into an analogy.
To be honest, I am more concerned about the way the winds will behave than what they will accomplish in the end. How is it that a group of people who were shouting "Tolerance" and "Stop the Hate" a couple of weeks ago are now resorting to violence and threats?
I've been called a bigot for my opinion, though I don't live in CA and didn't contribute in any way to the campaign. I didn't even express my opinion outside my home until the results were in. But, according to some, I'm a bigot for not agreeing with their point of view. Have the tables turned? Can I call them bigots now for not agreeing with me? No, I won't because I hate that word. It's ugly and mean and malicious. I don't do what they do or think what they think and that's okay for me. I don't hate them for it or even think they are bad people. I don't know very many of them, but the individuals I know are pretty good people, actually.
So why all the craziness? I understand that some of the members of the LDS Church contibuted heavily to the Yes on 8 campaign. I wasn't one of them. Actually, I only know of two people who did and it wasn't monetarily. But why go after the LDS Church in general when the voting members of the LDS Church consisted of an estimated mere 2-5% of the Yes vote? Can you call that tolerance? Doesn't it technically fall under the category of bigotry?
I didn't "take away someone's rights" and I hope I never have to be one who is faced with that decision at the voting booth. Why, then, am I to be persecuted and ridiculed for my beliefs?
Hilary, I responded to some of your concerns in my following post (Why Blame Mormons for Prop 8). Your comment has been inline with a number of things I've been hearing lately from many, many people. I plan to address all of these issues in the next few blog posts, if I get around to it.
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