On the whole, this has been overall the happiest election I have seen. For women, for minorities, for the hope that our young will have a future beyond subsistence survival I am quite optimistic that the whole country will be able to move forward a little faster now the voters have cleaned out some of the barnacles that threatened to sink our government ship.
However, I am celebrating even more a couple of very important advances my state of Maryland has accomplished. This means moving forward even faster toward a truly more diverse society, one we NEED in order to survive the century.
This is short, but sweet.
I hereby announce that Maryland, along with the states of Maine and Washington have declared that gays and lesbians are legally adult enough to be able to marry the partner of their choice. Maryland passed Initiative 6, the statute that legalizes civil same-sex marriages.
I am thankful for all the thousands of volunteers all across the state that fought tirelessly for this civil right. Whether my two cents worth did anything, I was willing to try. I was so happy to see so many religious leaders come out in support for civil rights. I assume Maine and Washington did too.
As the billboards say, "Marriage Matters". It did for Marylanders for Marriage Equality, who campaigned for it. The tide is turning. Bigotry is floundering. All the money in the world cannot ban the young by law from developing as more compassionate human beings.
We also passed the Maryland Dream Act. Now the children of undocumented immigrants can afford in-state college tuition, and won't be punished for the actions of their parents for wanting to provide a better world.
I love this state with all the hidden sentimentality that sneaks into my heart from time to time. Congradulations to President Obama, Elizabeth Warren, Tammy Duckworth, Sherrod Brown and Claire Mickaskell. I knew the majority of Americans would not bring themselves to vote against their own best interests. Thank you all!