The good and the bad

The bad things about the election:

1. Gay marriage bans in California, Arizona, and Florida. Using democracy to limit the rights of others just seems so deeply wrong.
2. Banning gay couples from adopting in Arkansas. Because the only thing we hate more than those fags are those damn kids that need a home.

The good things about the election:

1. John McCain did not win.
2. Colorado voters basically pissed on the idea of decreeing that life starts at conception.
3. An initiative in Oregon to limit foreign-language teaching for immigrant children also failed. Because depriving kids of the best education we can possibly offer is probably not the path to success.
   
4. As is so often the case, the Onion says it best:

Kobe Bryant Scores 25 In Holy Shit We Elected A Black President

LOS ANGELES—Lakers shooting guard Kobe Bryant had a typically solid performance from the field last night, scoring 25 points to propel his team to a holy shit, it's hard to believe these words are even gracing this page, but on Tuesday, Nov. 4, 2008, the American people elected a black man to the office of the President of the United States.

Words really can't describe how…or what, or…. Wow.

Bryant, who got off to a slow start early, but managed to find his touch late in the third, incredible. A black president for a nation whose entire history has been haunted by the specter of slavery and plagued by racism since before its inception. That this happened in our lifetime is remarkable; that it happened within 50 years of a time when segregation was still considered an acceptable institution is astonishing. Absolutely astonishing. This is an achievement on par with the moon landing.

So, some harm was done, but a lot of good was also done. As much as I try to be bitter and cynical - it doesn't always come easy, you know - I can't help but keep feeling a true sense of awe at Obama's victory. And as much as I may like to hold on to that cynicism, there is some hope to be found in this. If a middle-class black dude named Barack Hussein Obama can win the popular vote in a presidential election, maybe it is possible that, within my lifetime, we'll see full equality for all citizens.