Celebrating with the Blues

Last night my friend Dana, my husband, and I made plans for a noshing and drinking tour of local restaurants hosting election parties. We arrived at the first one around 8pm thinking that we had at least 2 hours of map watching before any sort of predictions would be made. So when we walked in to find an entire restaurant whooping and cheering, I was a little surprised. I have been used to staying up until 10 or 11pm at least before a winner is called. I was ready to hunker down. But the results came so quickly that we heard both John McCain's concession speech and Obama's acceptance speech before our food arrived.

Shortly after Obama spoke, there was a roar outside. Stepping out we saw a tidal wave of thousands of Cal students running down Shattuck Avenue, shouting and celebrating. On our way back to Oakland, all the cars had their windows down, honking horns and yelling congrats to each other and people on the sidewalk.

In the 12 years I've been voting, I don't remember ever seeing NY Times Square full of people celebrating. I don't remember having so many election night options to choose from. I don't remember seeing celebrations in the street. I imagine there was less revelry in say, Utah, but man, the level of excitement and participation we witnessed was overwhelming.

As I was leaving the parish on Monday I said to a coworker, "Next time I see you, it will be a different world."

"Maybe." She said.

And again, "Maybe" is right. This phenomenal, world-changing thing has happened. We've elected an intelligent, honest, and historic person to the White House. We are moving in a inspiring new direction. But the joy and celebration is tempered by the fact that last night, 11,440 couples went to sleep married, and woke up this morning divorced.

I cannot begin to imagine the sense of anger and betrayl one might feel, first, that people who don't know you can invalidate your marriage, and second, that they would consider it their civic duty to do so. I am at once proud of the state for electing Obama and embarrassed that it so callously disregards the concerns and families of 23,000 citizens.

It's a brand new world, and it's the same sad world, all at once.

Comments

[Sarah the sister in law]

Well said -- it's a bittersweet victory indeed. Though it's more that these couples' marriages will be "annulled" more so than "divorced" -- Dirty Catholic (the RC theologian) should understand that distinction better than most of us! And today on NPR they said 18,000 couples, so that's 36,000 Californians who will live in limbo for a few months until the Cal S Ct decides whether or not their marriages are valid.