torn

there will be time to talk about the new president (or how i’m already going through sarah palin withdrawal. or the inexplicable, almost maternal feeling of tenderness i felt towards john mccain–to hug him and say,  “just let it out, cry it out”. or about the potential aftermath of this new administration, and what it might mean for us Filipinos. or the snapshots of division i witnessed  hours after the results were in: four African Americans beating up a white quintessential dc douche on M street, the sole white woman at the back of the bus with her pearls and her mccain button, sniffing huffily every time people would spontaneously burst into exclamations of joy– “obama. BARRRACCCCK OH-BAMA. I could say that name forever”, this one guy kept on repeating.  ).

right now, though? to be honest: all i am present to is how conflicted i am particularly on the predicted outcome of Prop 8. i believe that the idea of saying yes to rescinding an existing right such as marriage (a right which should be available to all citizens) is intolerant and bigoted and quite simply, wrong.  so wow. yes to change, america.

while i am sure there are (or will be) more scholarly articles regarding this issue on say, the new york times or the post or the wall st. journal,  this gawker article (forwarded to me by my dearest ryan)  just lays it out in a funny-sad way, full of resignation and anger & maybe some hope, if you read between the lines and it basically mirrors the way i see things, the morning after.

UPDATE:

K. Olbermann has this to say:

Because this isn’t about yelling, and this isn’t about politics. This is about the human heart, and if that sounds corny, so be it.

If you voted for this Proposition or support those who did or the sentiment they expressed, I have some questions, because, truly, I do not understand. Why does this matter to you? What is it to you? In a time of impermanence and fly-by-night relationships, these people over here want the same chance at permanence and happiness that is your option. They don’t want to deny you yours. They don’t want to take anything away from you. They want what you want—a chance to be a little less alone in the world.

Click to read the full article here.

2 posts in one day

Because four years ago, on this very day I once wrote–

Today, on Halloween, I must make a confession: I am scared. There is a thought that encompasses all my irrational childish fears; a thought more frightening than Bluebeard with his ax, or the evil clown in the closet, or of flying cockroaches or of the evil rats that will bite off my toes when I’m asleep. I am afraid of the dark shadow that hangs over America. I am horrified that the person responsible for the paranoia and unfounded jingoism that festers in the hearts of some Americans, the person who has been the cause of so many senseless deaths, the person who has constantly (and unblinkingly!) justified a fabricated war is going to be reelected as the next President of the United States of America. Please. Say it ain’t so.

I don’t want to jinx this, but I feel hope( and yes, that Obamafied buzzword–change!) in the air today, on this Hallow’s eve.

I’m reminded every single day that I am not a perfect man. I will not be a perfect president.

But I can promise you this. I will always tell you what I think, and where I stand. I will always be honest with you about the challenges we face.

I will listen to you when we disagree. And most importantly, I will open the doors of government and ask you to be involved in your own democracy again.

From the Wall St. Journal–

Obama and the Runaway Train

The race, the case, a hope for grace.

by Peggy Noonan

The case for Barack Obama, in broad strokes:

He has within him the possibility to change the direction and tone of American foreign policy, which need changing; his rise will serve as a practical rebuke to the past five years, which need rebuking; his victory would provide a fresh start in a nation in which a fresh start would come as a national relief. He climbed steep stairs, born off the continent with no father to guide, a dreamy, abandoning mother, mixed race, no connections. He rose with guts and gifts. He is steady, calm, and, in terms of the execution of his political ascent, still the primary and almost only area in which his executive abilities can be discerned, he shows good judgment in terms of whom to hire and consult, what steps to take and moves to make. We witnessed from him this year something unique in American politics: He took down a political machine without raising his voice.

A great moment: When the press was hitting hard on the pregnancy of Sarah Palin’s 17-year-old daughter, he did not respond with a politically shrewd “I have no comment,” or “We shouldn’t judge.” Instead he said, “My mother had me when she was 18,” which shamed the press and others into silence. He showed grace when he didn’t have to.

There is something else. On Feb. 5, Super Tuesday, Mr. Obama won the Alabama primary with 56% to Hillary Clinton’s 42%. That evening, a friend watched the victory speech on TV in his suburban den. His 10-year-old daughter walked in, saw on the screen “Obama Wins” and “Alabama.” She said, “Daddy, we saw a documentary on Martin Luther King Day in school.” She said, “That’s where they used the hoses.” Suddenly my friend saw it new. Birmingham, 1963, and the water hoses used against the civil rights demonstrators. And now look, the black man thanking Alabama for his victory.

This means nothing? This means a great deal.

Read the rest of the article here.