We’ve just begun

Not everyone is waking up to their idea of a better America this morning. And I don’t mean McCain supporters. I mean gay people in California who have been stripped of their right to marry. Gay people in Arizona and Florida have been denied that right as well, and those in Arkansas have been banned from adopting.

But talking to a coworker this morning gave me hope. We’ve come a long way from the days when gay teenagers were locked up in psychiatric wards – his personal experience – or subjected to electroshock therapy. We’ve come a long way from my teenage years when the majority of gay youth were silent, for fear of recrimination.  We’ve come a long way. We have further to go, but we have hope.

There’s something my coworker said to me that I want to share with you. The journey to Martin Luther King, Jr.’s promised land is generational. For him, the promised land of gay rights is just out of reach and he likely won’t reach it in his lifetime, but he can see it on the horizon. He has faith that eventually we as a people will get there. And watching the reactions of African-Americans last night, I believe him. We now can tell young people of color that they can be anything, and I am looking forward to seeing a woman hold that highest office in my lifetime.

There is work to do, and I can’t wait to see what our President-Elect’s plans are to harness the energy that he was able to mobilize during this campaign season. I hope that this is a new day for participation, for rolling up our sleeves to finally get something done.