Frith O’Steen

So on Tuesday night, I’ll admit it - they announced Barack Obama would be our next president, and I immediately jumped up and screamed quite joyfully. After the past eight years watching our country become so incredibly damaged both domestically and internationally, I had almost given up hope that we could begin to turn a new page and rebuild our sense of community and fairness and possibility.  I was in the tank for Obama early on - he is so dang intelligent, well-spoken, measured, thoughtful…I’m thrilled our country finally went for those characteristics rather than what we have settled for with this past administration. People finally stood up and said, “No more! We won’t let you do this to us anymore!”. And I’m so excited that my children were alive to see history made - I’m hoping Decker especially will remember how engaged (ok, obsessed, in the case of his mom) his parents were in this election and the issues, and how excited we were to explain to him what it means to have picked a new leader for our country. We’re one step closer to being able to say, “Anyone can grow up to become president”. (Once we elect our first female president, then I’ll feel I can say it absolutely).

But…my celebration over this election is tempered by what happened out here in CA. Namely, the passing of Prop 8. I am so sad that some of my friends have now essentially been told by voters that they are not full citizens, that their civil rights are not quite equal to their fellow Californians, and that their loving relationships are not considered ‘real’ in a legal sense. I’m actually very happy right now that my sons are not old enough to understand this part of the election, because I think it would really confuse them. Why can their mom and dad be officially married, but some of their friends’ parents can’t? Just as their dad and I grew up in a post-MLK era, where it seemed strange to hear in history class about the idea that some of our classmates would not have been allowed to go to school with us in years past based on their race, it’s my hope that my sons will feel that way some day when they hear about legislation that was targeted against the lgbt community. As in, “Wow, how could people have ever said that was ok?”.

My heart is aching right now for my friends who are directly affected by this legislation, and I hope the legal fight is effective and swift. This is a civil rights issue, and I can’t quite celebrate the new day for our country when my home state is taking away people’s basic rights.

So…yay Obama, but boo prop (h)8!