Proposition 8

The title should be "The Death of Hope". But that would be too dramatic. Too defeatist. It would imply a belief in the unrelenting tyranny of the majority. Instead, I'd like to believe that Tuesday's disappointment was simply a temporary setback; just a minor glitch in a matrix that is constantly being rewritten...perfected.

I'm talking about California's newly approved Proposition 8, which reinstates the ban on same sex marriage in that state. This past summer, California became the second state (after Massachusetts) to approve same sex marriage in the United States, raising hopes amongst civil rights advocates that the move might spread to other states.

Unfortunately, discrimination met with opportunism this Tuesday, and bigotry had its way. With Obama's victory, the evening was supposed to end on a joyful note. Hope and Change were supposed to be the day's loudest songs. But this reverse move towards inequality in California was hardly the kind of Change that was floating in the air on election night....it is contrary to the Hope in a better and more equal future that millions of voices had in mind when their voices echoed "Yes we can!"