Change

[hells_half_acre]

I usually don't comment on politics at all. I prefer to keep my opinions to myself...unless drunk. 

That being said, I think it behooves me to mention something about last night's US elections, as I'm a historian of sorts, and it really was a historic moment. I agree with the optimism that is being felt by millions of people today, but for me it's not necessarily optimism that America will pull it's head out of its ass and move into the 21st century...they still have a long way to go for that (their democracy has been stagnant for years, and in at least one respect it's actually worse than it was in the 18th century). 

What makes me optimistic about last night was that it was an indicator of how fast social change can occur. In less than 100 years, African-Americans in the States went from being denied the right to vote to being elected to the highest office in the country. And that DOES in fact give me hope. It reminds me that, although Arizona, California, and Florida choose to ban gay-marriage and continue to marginalize and discriminate against a select group of their fellow Americans, there is hope that maybe it won't take too long before homophobia is seen as backwards and un-evolved as racism.

I know that African-Americans are still victims of racism in the states and that yesterday's events do not automatically make this go away, but at the very least, the prejudice they feel is not institutionalized, as prejudice against the gay community is. 

I am very happy for the US, and I hope and am now optimistic that I might live to see ALL American citizens treated equally, as their constitution so proudly states that they should be. As long as a segment of the population is treated as second class citizens under law, a country is not really free.

If America can keep up, or step up, their speed of social change, perhaps in the future I'll even get over my reluctance to set foot in the country.

I hope that Obama serves his country well and follows through with his campaign promises. I think the rest of the world would like to respect America, just as much as America would like to be respected...and personally, I haven't been able to give my respect to America for many years - until last night. It was, however, just the first step to many that need to be taken.