Why yesterday matters.

Hello all,

As you know, last night Barack Obama was reelected as the President of the United States. The race was close for a long time, but Obama finished with 303 electoral votes and Romney finished with 206 (270 needed to win).

I've included his victory speech. I encourage you to listen; you'll get goosebumps. I'll give it to Romney, his concession speech was gracious, and he seemed to accept defeat with dignity.

Not only am I thrilled that Obama won, I'm also really proud of this country for several other reasons. Three states, Maryland, Washington, and Maine, passed full marriage equality by popular vote. That's a big deal because usually the state legislature has to initiate it and battle for it. This time, the people themselves spoke up for love, equality, and respect. That makes me so happy, and so proud, I truly can't express it in words.

But that's not all. Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin is the first openly-gay candidate to win a senate seat. This flies in the face of the homophobic traditions that we've been stuck in, and gives me hope that people will one day look past the object of one's affection and look instead at the direction of their leadership.

Also, quite interestingly, Puerto Rico voted largely in favor of moving towards statehood. While it's nowhere near definite as it has to be approved by Congress, we may very well have 51 states soon. How cool is all this?!

Gay rights being recognized. Healthcare reform underway, safe from obstruction. Equal pay for equal work. Hope to heal our planet. That's what yesterday means, why yesterday matters. And why the next four years will matter for future generations.

I'll probably post later about Zach Wahls' speech, I wanted this post to focus on the magnitude of the good that yesterday's election has done for this country. Regardless of how you voted, thank you for participating and fulfilling your responsibility to your nation, and I hope we can spend the next four years building a wonderful America.

Ali