It's been a very long time since I felt like I was a part of something genuine, just, and true. The last time I felt moved in this was was Jesse Jackson's presidential bid back in the '80s. But I quickly learned what disappointment meant and how frustrating it was to change anything. There were so many years when I thought that change would not, and could not, be possible.
Too many promises broken, and too many battles lost. Too many friends who left, and too many times when I said, "I give up."
But no more! What an incredible night! What a historic victory! On a magnitude and scale that goes far beyond one's hopes, it felt as though the country -- the America that I know -- we drew one collective breath together and exhaled with relief, joy, and then jubilation.
For once I wish I was back in Arlington, VA. I wish I could take the Metro to the McPherson Square exit and run up to the front of the White House to join with hundreds of others who have gathered there for the celebration. And with all my might, I would've yelled at the top of my lungs for everyone to hear, "You're in OUR House now!!!"
UPDATE: Bloody hell. Proposition 8, the California ballot to ban same-sex marriage, is going to win. And the exit polls are revealing that the minority electorate voted in favor of the ban which means once again supporters of same-sex marriage are still unable to take race, the language of marriage, and the historical specificity of immigrant, bicultural experiences as factors.
