Love more, hate less

Yesterday was a long, emotional day. And reading the transcript of Barack Obama's speech this morning started me crying again. I'm am so proud of my country for making this choice, and I am so proud of Indiana for helping in this direction.

Yesterday I worked for the Democratic Voter Protection Team. When I arrived at 5:30 in the morning, there were already people lined up. There were people who were voting for the first time in their lives and people who had to be physically helped to the voting booths by volunteers and family members. In this mostly poor, mostly African-American neighborhood, there was an excitement and a feeling of purpose, and most of the people who came in were patient with the process and kind - I wish I could say the same for all of the poll workers. Still, from the little old ladies dressed to the nines to the young couple who wanted me to take a picture as they cast their first ballots together, it was great to see people so excited.

I was so happy and excited to see the results come in, but we still have so far to go as a country, and while this is an awesome first step, it will be a long journey to get to real, lasting change.

I was most disappointed to read that California passed proposition 8. This hateful piece of legislation took away the rights of all of the gay and lesbian couples who had married in California, and I think it is so incredibly sad. To paraphrase from a friend, it is astounding to me that people seem to think that one line from Leviticus holds more sway than everything Christ said or did.

To borrow the Facebook religious views statement of a friend, I wish this world could love more and hate less.

Yes We Can

It was a creed written into the founding documents that declared the destiny of a nation.

Yes we can.

It was whispered by slaves and abolitionists as they blazed a trail toward freedom.

Yes we can.

It was sung by immigrants as they struck out from distant shores and pioneers who pushed westward against an unforgiving wilderness.

Yes we can.

It was the call of workers who organized; women who reached for the ballots; a President who chose the moon as our new frontier; and a King who took us to the mountaintop and pointed the way to the Promised Land.

Yes we can to justice and equality.

Yes we can to opportunity and prosperity.

Yes we can heal this nation.

Yes we can repair this world.

Yes we can.

We know the battle ahead will be long, but always remember that no matter what obstacles stand in our way, nothing can stand in the way of the power of millions of voices calling for change.

We have been told we cannot do this by a chorus of cynics … they will only grow louder and more dissonant … We’ve been asked to pause for a reality check. We’ve been warned against offering the people of this nation false hope.

But in the unlikely story that is America, there has never been anything false about hope.

Now the hopes of the little girl who goes to a crumbling school in Dillon are the same as the dreams of the boy who learns on the streets of LA; we will remember that there is something happening in America; that we are not as divided as our politics suggests; that we are one people; we are one nation; and together, we will begin the next great chapter in the American story with three words that will ring from coast to coast; from sea to shining sea –

Yes. We. Can.

- President-elect Barack Obama

Good stuff

1. I have a new job, and while it isn't so fantastical that I won't be looking for something that makes more use of my background, it is a step-up from where I am right now.

2. I just got the best haircut I've had in more than two years.

3. All but a one of my boxes made the trip from Mokpo. While I can't find lots of small but important-to-me things, opening up the boxes that DID make it brought me so much joy!
3a. If sending packages surface from Asia to North America, pack very, very carefully in REALLY REALLY sturdy boxes, take pictures, and use airmail for anything important.

4. I drove from Indy to my hometown this afternoon and Autumn is SO BEAUTIFUL here! The trees are exploding in the most vivid colors, and they contrast with the browns of the fields and the SKY, and well, it was striking.

5. I am hopeful about the election. Cautiously so, because it would be so, so heartbreaking to me if Obama lost, but hopeful nonetheless.