Platinum lining

Last night was amazing here, with thousands of people flooding the streets to cheer Obama's victory. The only comparable scene I can imagine in modern U.S. history is V-J Day: August 14, 1945, when World War II was declared over and a sailor permanently kissed a nurse in Times Square.

In the Mission, the police looked on bemused as crowds blocked intersections and danced on cars. But a coworker said that a cop in the Castro said he was nervous what would happen when everyone found out that Prop. 8 had most likely passed.

As a left-of-left liberal and native Northamptonite, I'm hugely disappointed by the fact that my chosen home state has denied its citizens the right to marry anyone they want. It's an affront to human rights, and I can't wrap my head around the idea that anyone who was proud to elect our first black president is unable to see the prejudicial parallel between racism and homophobia. That unfairness kept me from fully enjoying last night's celebration.

But as a local gay friend was gracious enough to remind me this morning: If losing on Prop. 8 is the only downside of an otherwise triumphant election and a new direction for our country, then at least we can take some solace in having come far enough for the vote to happen at all. Eight years ago, he said, legalizing gay marriage would have been unthinkable.

Then I heard from my savta, whose lifelong political involvement (alongside my hell-raiser grandfather, when he was with us) has always inspired me.

This is a great moment! Despite the deeply serious problems facing us all, I feel much less anxious, secure in the knowledge that we now have leadership that is intelligent, thoughtful, competent, informed, and imbued with a deep sense of justice and public responsibility. Barack is a gift to us all! And I'm so grateful that you, my children's and grandchildren's generation, have responded to his challenge with determination and passion.

Her voice is wise. So are countless others I heard expressing the extraordinary joy and hope that captured millions of Americans last night. We're not at the end of the road, by any measure—but I'd be crazy not to appreciate the giant step forward we just took.