Oh! Oh! Oh! It's Magic . . .

I have to say, I am so so happy and relieved that Barack Obama is going to be our next president. I really feel that he has the power to lift our country out of the mire that we're in. I was a little nervous on election day, even though I was confident that he would win. I loved that basically as soon as the polls in California closed they called the election for Obama. I hope that those who voted for McCain aren't too disappointed. I think that John McCain is truly a good man, and would not have done bad by our country. However, I do feel that he allowed his desire to win the election and the opinions of those in his campaign to skew his judgment to such an extent that he became almost unrecognizable. Given his erudite and humble concession speech, it seems that he recognizes this himself and has gone back to the real John McCain. I really do hope that Obama's presidency will open up a new era of cooperation and open-mindedness in our country.

I really wanted an Obama t-shirt for most of the election but either couldn't find one I liked, or didn't have the money for it. However, ironically enough, just a few days after the election I found just what I wanted right in my home town of Athens. I thought this one was A for awesome. Find it at Satisfctory on Etsy. My manager at work was so happy about the results of the election that she bought everyone breakfast and lunch.

I work at Barnes and Noble, and I when I came in on Wednesday I thought I'd get some newspapers to save for the headlines. I was lucky to get to work early because we only got 3 copies of the New York Times and people asked about them all day, and a few today as well.

The only thing that made me really sad this election season was to see that Proposition 8 passed in California. I'm not sure how it will actually play out legally, but this seems to be a devastating blow to civil rights. In 1967 the Supreme Court, in a case involving an interracial couple, declared that "marriage is one of the basic civil rights for man" and now that right is being threatened. Our country was founded with the idea of a separation of church and state. The only reason to not allow gay couples to marry is because you have religious moral objections to it. The fact is, two people being married, whether gay or not, does not infringe on anyone else's rights or well-being, and therefore should be legal. The only thing Prop 8 does is force a specific religious belief onto the whole of the population of California and it's citizens. Since we're a country that allows freedom of religion, and therefore the right to not practice religion at all, this is a clear violation of our consitution that I find very disheartening. Being gay should not infringe on your basic rights.

I feel that one day we'll look back on this decision and shake our heads with shame. And it is a shame, that on the day we elect our first black president, people are still battling for their rights as citizens of this country and as human beings.