Bridging The Divide or Burning A Bridge?

Last week witnessed a historic event: the people of the United States overcame centuries of race-based division to elect its first African-American president. I think it's safe to say the majority of Americans have finally seen through the divisiveness of race-based judgments or decisions. When millions of people came together to cast their votes for Barack Obama in the primary and general elections, they did so because they saw him as the person with the best policy.

Obama's inspiring speeches and change in policy as usual enticed many to take first time actions like registering to vote, volunteering on a campaign, or donating to a candidate. People of all backgrounds - young, old, straight, gay, Asian, Black, White, Latino, Christian, Jewish, Muslim, low-income, middle class, upper class, educated, uneducated, progressives, moderates - came together to take these actions to help elect a person that they wanted to see as their next President. These were people who dedicated a moment in their lives to change the political direction of Washington so that government would better serve the people. This includes pulling us out of Iraq to refocus investment in jobs at home, providing access to health care for all, and shifting tax breaks away from corporations and the wealthiest to those who are not part of the elite.

One of Karl Marx's underlying points in his writings on the working class is that those in power create divisions to keep the proletariat fractured. We've shown that the race barrier - traditionally one of the biggest dividers - can be overcome for the good of the common persons. But while we are on the road to defeating this man-created tool of division, the Right has switched to emphasis on a different category to divide and conquer (i.e. win votes and stay in power): sexual orientation.

While much of the nation celebrated the anticipated shift in federal policy thanks to the election of Obama, many of us here in California felt a drop in our hearts as we saw the results of Prop 8 roll in. Prop 8, a ban on gay marriage, is a constitutional violation - a direct blow at civil rights. No matter what your skin color is, you have the legal right to not only live or work wherever you want, but marry whomever you want, too. Yet, here we have a group of people - homosexuals - marginalized to the point that they have to hide part of their identity in many places in this country.

So it's hard for me to rejoice in the gains of this election without mourning the outcome too. Though the majority of people weren't scared into voting for the Right for President this time based on the bogus threat that they say Democrats pose to "family values", Prop 8 would not have passed if it weren't for over half of the Californians casting votes having supported it - many of whom supported Obama. As long as people continue to be duped into being divided, the elite will continue to use it as a tool to advance their agenda. It's time to knock down these illusionary walls of division and come together as a community of beings to live with equality and peace.