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.