"To those who would tear the world down: We will defeat you. To those who seek peace and security: We support you. And to all those who have wondered if America's beacon still burns as bright: Tonight we proved once more that the true strength of our nation comes not from the might of our arms or the scale of our wealth, but from the enduring power of our ideals: democracy, liberty, opportunity and unyielding hope."
-- President-Elect Barack Obama (Chicago, 11.4.08)
Wednesday, November 05, 2008
Quote of the Year
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16 comments:
I printed out his speech and have been reading it over and over again. It is so inspiring.
I have laughed, I have cried, I have hugged my children, who also laughed and cried. I took them with me canvassing and they voted in mock elections at school. My 8th grade son has argued so much in favor of Obama at school, he even had to give a speech in favor of him for his English class. I cannot believe I was lucky enough to meet our President-Elect. I am so proud of so many in our country. It is time we grew up...and I think we just did.
Absolutely the best quote of his speech (and it had some pretty good company). I've been trying to define to friends in one sentence what makes him so different, what shows that he "gets it". This quote is perfect. David Foster Wallace was criticized for asking the question (I'm paraphrazing here), "Is the security of our nation so important that it is worth sacrificing everything else?" The "everything else" is what Obama is talking about here. We are great BECAUSE we are a beacon on justice, opportunity, and democracy, not because we offer a place for people to get rich. I feel relief and lightness more than sheer joy, although there is a little bit of that mixed in. This is a good day for America, a day that it can hang its hat on forever. I am proud to be an American today, and not in the jingoistic Lee Greenwood way. Our "noble experiment" shows that it still works today.
I put together the transcript of the whole speech here.
I can honestly say I have never seen anything like what we witnessed last night. And apparently, I'm not just imagining it: the world is somehow brighter today, clean. Everyone is feeling it.
History ended last night. The Future starts today.
This is the beginning of the end of the Nightmare.
The conservative pundits were right about one thing: there are two Americas. There is the america we watched at McCain's farewell event, cursing, booing, hissing, spitting, seething, and threatening. FEARING. We may be fortunate enough in our lifetime to see this america wane into obscurity.
The other America, the one just now waking up from this long bad dream, personifies grace, class, humility, pride, enthusiasm, optimism.
Dignity.
The people of the World are crying out in joy. America is coming home.
Liberty? Unyielding hope? Is it possible for a single moment to be one of the happiest and saddest moments of your life, simultaneously?
I'm gay. I cried my eyes out last night and this morning. And they weren't tears of joy. All of my friends are ecstatic and celebrating, and I can't even manage a single smile. I'm still stunned by the Prop 8 vote.
Sorry to be a buzzkill. But I have to point out that it isn't just McCan/Palin supporters who are down in the dumps today. The gay equality movement was dealt one of the worst blows in its history. Prop 8 was going to be the single greatest thing we ever accomplished; it was going to show the rest of America that we could be normal citizens like everyone else. And it was shot down. And on top of that, my homestate of FL just further cemented me as second-class. I can't have a husband, a civil partner or even a child. I'm not allowed the right to have a family, just because I was born as a minority. All of this happened in the same election that Obama was elected.
So yeah, I'm happy Obama and Biden won, and now the Senate and House have Democrat majorities. And now Obama will appoint liberal-leaning judges to the Supreme Court. And I feel so absolutely empty about all of it. I want to smile but I can't.
I can't get out of Florida fast enough, and I never want to come back.
Lex --
I'd like to say that I'm sorry, but really when it comes to the propositions you're talking about, I'm sorry for all of us. We obviously still have a hell of a way to go to escape the kind of fear and prejudice that's saddled the ignorant in this country for far too long.
We won the larger war last night, but the intolerant -- in all their horseshit righteousness -- are still out there and are still voting. I expect a nice helping of stupid from Florida, but California is what really shocks me. I really thought we might be moving past this nonsense.
California happened because of the "children." There was so much fear-mongering done about gay marriage being taught in schools that people bought it. I voted no on that piece of crap, and I'm proud to stand with the half of the state that did so. I listened to two gay friends of mine cry their eyes out this morning over this, and I wanted to cry with them.
Lex -- my heart breaks for you, truly. Not everyone thinks that way, and it's a shame, but it's my hope that we'll rectify this somehow.
Lex,
My condolences and sympathy. As a heterosexual I will never know your heartache. As the brother of a lesbian I am completely indignant at the idea that anyone has the right to tell my sister and her partner (or anyone else) they don't deserve to be secure, happy and fulfilled in their personal relationship.
If there is one bright spot to look at, it is that change, while sometimes slow, is inevitable.
In the same way that, in one lifetime, a woman one generation removed from slavery could go from outhouses, kerosene lamps, and oppressive Jim Crow laws to voting for the first black president on an electronic touch screen, I'm hopeful we will see the end of this discrimination in our lifetime (I just hope it doens't take 100 years).
Lex,
my sympathies. That vote was a travesty. It took the shine off my day, too, and I'm a straight European!
Chez,
I agree- I expected better from California. Even though they elected The Governator, still.... I thought they were more enlightened than this.
Jeremy,
word! Well said.
Lex!
I came back here to post this for you!
http://www.nclrights.org/site/PageServer?pagename=press_prop8challenge110508
It's rare for the cynic in me to believe what any politician says but it gave me chills when Obama said, "...the true strength of our nation comes not from the might of our arms or the scale of our wealth, but from the enduring power of our ideals."
Extraordinarily well said.
Now only if the Mormons and the RR stayed the fuck out of California -maybe hope would feel eternal...
But as FDR said: we have nothing to blame but blame ourselves...
pure poetry
Thank you for the kind words.
Gay equality will come, I know it will. With a Democrat dominated government we'll likely see Defense of Marriage and Don't Ask Don't Tell overturned in Obama's (first) four years. And Obama mentioned gays in his acceptance speech, which still blows me away. I also can't forget that he mentioned gay equality at one of the Faith Tour (?) stops he made; the deeply religious black audience went silent and didn't applaud when he brought it up, but he said it anyway and he made it known that he supported it. Obama truly is a gay ally, and even though Prop 8 has tarnished his victory's image in the memory of every gay American, he still gives us hope for a better future. If Bill Clinton was the "first black President" then Obama is the "first gay President."
But the California thing just has me shocked. CA is supposed to be a progressive bastion of sorts.
The good news is, the shock has been temporary on the gay sites I go to, and the reaction has been powerful. Shock is turning into drive. Instead of blaming our opponents (not to say there isn't any black or Mormon namecalling going on), most gays are blaming themselves and their own lack of drive. We expected this to be handed to us. We didn't fight for it like we should have. And now we're full of energy and drive; we want there to be change and we want it on our terms. We're not being reactionary anymore because it isn't working. We're really tired of relying on groups like the HRC and the Democrats to hand us scraps when they feel like it. I think in this term you're going to see a lot of activism from the gays. We had equality wiggled in front of our faces and then yanked away. Instead of waiting for anti-gay groups to attack us with ballot propositions, we're going to go on the offensive.
So perhaps Prop 8 was exactly what the gay equality movement needed all this time. A powerful bitch slap to tell us there will be no easy victories and we'll need to fight tooth and nail for every inch.
Lex,
I truly hope you are right. It will come, I'm sure. The sooner the better!
I've seen some comments around that the vote is actually not legal, anyway. Is that the case?
Lex, I also can't believe the ignorance and fear of so many people. I told my children that I wanted to say, following the election, that I was so proud of everyone.....but I couldn't. The hatred and fear shown during McCain's speech, the ignorance of all those states who voted to continue to treat the GLBT community as second-class citizens or worse, is inexcusable.
I do believe that as President, Barack Obama will reach out to the gay community more than any other official in history. My heart goes out to you, to Jody, to all my friends, and to all those children in Arkansas who may remain in foster care or worse because they are being denied loving parents, to all those in California, Arizona, and Florida who are being denied the right to love, and live, just like their "straight" counterparts.
As the old Virginia Slims ads used to say, "We've come a long way, baby," but it's obvious we have a much longer way ahead. However, I think Nov. 4, 2008 will be recognized as the beginning of the end for discrimination across the board.
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