A dream partially fulfilled...

Today, in the US is Martin Luther King JR day.

Here's an excerpt from his famous "I Have a Dream" speech:

I say to you today, my friends, so even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream.

I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: "We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal."

I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood.

I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a state sweltering with the heat of injustice, sweltering with the heat of oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.

I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.

I have a dream today.

I have a dream that one day, down in Alabama, with its vicious racists, with its governor having his lips dripping with the words of interposition and nullification; one day right there in Alabama, little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers.

I have a dream today.

I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plain, and the crooked places will be made straight, and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together.

This is our hope. This is the faith that I go back to the South with. With this faith we will be able to hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope. With this faith we will be able to transform the jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood. With this faith we will be able to work together, to pray together, to struggle together, to go to jail together, to stand up for freedom together, knowing that we will be free one day.

This will be the day when all of God's children will be able to sing with a new meaning, "My country, 'tis of thee, sweet land of liberty, of thee I sing. Land where my fathers died, land of the pilgrim's pride, from every mountainside, let freedom ring."

And if America is to be a great nation this must become true. So let freedom ring from the prodigious hilltops of New Hampshire. Let freedom ring from the mighty mountains of New York. Let freedom ring from the heightening Alleghenies of Pennsylvania!

Let freedom ring from the snowcapped Rockies of Colorado!

Let freedom ring from the curvaceous slopes of California!

But not only that; let freedom ring from Stone Mountain of Georgia!

Let freedom ring from Lookout Mountain of Tennessee!

Let freedom ring from every hill and molehill of Mississippi. From every mountainside, let freedom ring.

And when this happens, when we allow freedom to ring, when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God's children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual, "Free at last! free at last! thank God Almighty, we are free at last!

So, my fellow Americans let us celebrate this great man and another one hopefully, President-elect Barack Obama. Part of MLK Junior's dream has been fulfilled. Let us hope that all of our dreams are fulfilled. We are witnessesing history in the making.

Food For Thought: Hate, Ignorance, and Fear

Hate is caused by fear and ignorance.

They say that ignorance is bliss. I disagree. Your ignorance is

not my bliss. You ignore my rights of life, liberty, and

pursuit of happiness. More importantly, you ignore my very

existence. You ignore my choice to marry the one I love just

because she is of the same sex as me. You ignore me and my

representation on television. You ignore me and my voice on the

news. And, if you do show me and others like me, you show us as

stereotypes, as comedic relief.

Well, guess what? I am here. And, there are millions of others

like me. We are your neighbors, your friends, and your family.

We work at your jobs. We pay taxes like you. We live and die

for this country, all the while being forced out of fear or

other reasons to stay hidden.

But you are fearful, too. Afraid that we will ruin your

marriage. I am not asking to be married in your church. I am

asking for the same rights as you. You are afraid that I will

corrupt your family and children. I am not a pedophile. I

worked for over two years with the children of broken families

that were ruined just fine without me. You are afraid of our

"agenda". We don't have an agenda other than to be treated the

same. We are not wanting "special" rights nor extra rights. We

want the same rights as you. We are not second-class citizens.

Don't fear us. Please educate yourselves. And, then you can stop

the hate.

Because at the end of the day, don't we all look at the same

moon? Don't we all tuck our children in? Don't we all love?

Aren't we all human?

I see leaves!

The revolution is beginning today. Stay tuned for more information.

Bittersweetness...

Today was bittersweet.

So the American election was today, and Obama won! Woot!

However, today reminded me how long large scale societal changes really take. Brown V. the Board of Education was in 1954, but we are just now getting our first African American president in 2008.

A further and more personal reminder is the 4 state ballot measures across the country dealing with LGBQT Rights, including Prop. 8 in California and Prop. 2 in Florida. So literally, from sea to shining sea, we, as queer people, do not have the same rights as straight people. We cannot choose to marry another consenting adult as well as adopt a child with our partner, just on the basis of them being of the same-sex. We are not considered equal; we are treated as second class citizens.

Ironically enough, also this week, I learned that my favorite show, Grey's Anatomy, fired unexpectedly the incredibly talented actress Brooke Smith from her role as Dr. Erica Hahn. Now, usually this wouldn't upset and anger me so much, as it is just a television show. However, this was the only positive semi-realistic portrayal of a lesbians on primetime network television. And, although queers as a whole only represent about 10% of the total population in the US, 0% representation in the media does not equal 10%.

On top of this, this is not the first time ABC/Disney has done something like this in terms of showing and promoting gay stereotypes and furthering homophobic practices and ideas. Trust me, I wanted to quit my job, because I was that livid about this. And, if you know me at all, I must think something is pretty unjust for me to risk my job for.

All of these things, in addition to other examples, have really opened my eyes to what a close-minded and hateful society we still live in 2008. I don't want to have to wait another 100 years before queers get the same God-given rights not only here but all over the world. We all deserve the rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. I'm tired of waiting. I'm tired of regression as opposed to progression. I'm tired of lies. I'm ready for a change- a real change. Let's be the revolution today!