Camelot . . .

I am having a Job day. I feel like Job. I feel psychologically and spiritually drained and on the very edge of death. I even have a a boil on my butt. I've never felt this way before -- not even the six minutes I flat lined in the ER; not when my dad died; not when my mom died. I have simply never been in this state before.

I think that God has given me a small taste of how IT and BP and the thousands of other California same-gender married couples felt yesterday. And I don't like it.

IT, I apologize for being smug yesterday. I am thankful that God has given me a little taste of what my friends are experiencing.

At the same time, though, I identify with John the Revelator.

Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God...

I believe that we have seen the heavens open a bit and a new day really has been seen, if only "dimly though a glass."

In the past couple of years so much has changed. The most political thing I had ever done was to go to all the people in my neighbourhood and ask if any needed a ride to the polling place (I life in the old section of town with its older population). This year, I worked a political booth.

In one of his famous speeches, Dr. King, Jr. said, “I’ve been to the mountain top and I’ve seen the other side.” On Tuesday, we hit the mountain top and we saw the other side and we are now on the down-hill side headed to “the promised land.”

I spent several hours with my honorary niece (who is so much like me it’s as if I donated her complete DNA) and several of her friends. They are all in their very early twenties. Two girls, six boys. The first thing they said to me was, “Uncle Jim, can you believe that “yes” won?” They didn’t say, “Obama won, and what about that prop eight.”

These young people are completely heterosexual and very heterosexually active. Yet, they were outraged by the result. One of the guys said, “Next year when we vote on this again, I’m going to work some of those “no” booths. Who knows, I could even totally pick up some hot chicks there.”

Another of those straight boys had been on a double date Saturday – he and his girlfriend, his best male friend and that best friend’s boyfriend. A straight and a gay couple on a double date and it was absolutely normal to them.

As difficult as the outcome is for us, now, the tide has changed. We have been to the mountain top. We have seen the other side. And for one brief shining moment, we were in Camelot. Well, the gates to Camelot appear to be closed, but it’s not; we are not in Kansas anymore, and we will not be going back to Kansas.

When history is written we will be remembered as the era that ushered in justice. We must remember that this struggle isn't just for us. Just as those in the 1950s and 1960s were not fighting just for themselves -- they were fighting for succeeding generations. We, too, are fighting for those who follow us -- so that they will never know the injustice GLBT people have experienced heretofore.

Fr. Geoff posts this from one of his readers:

"There's still MORE good news to note at this point amid the loss - the California Attorney General has stated that the passage of Prop 8 does NOT invalidate the same-sex marriages that already have taken place in California, and he's said he is ready to defend that stance in court if pressed. So, supposedly we have the State of California on our side.

The lawsuit that you mention has been filed by Lambda Legal, along with the National Center for Lesbian Rights, and the ACLU on behalf of Equality California and six same-sex couples.

If any of your readers aren't familiar with these non-profit groups, they should look them up - they are tirelessly and relentlessly fighting for our rights within the legal system, not only marriage rights, but adoption, child custody, school discrimination, job security and more. Let's talk family values, shall we?

The men and women within their ranks who are working on cases like these are the unsung heroes who still need our continued support.

So, not only do we have time and momentum on our side, we've got folks like this fighting for us on the inside, too.

It ain't over yet."

I made a decision Tuesday about a personal practice. Until civl rights are realized for all citizens, I will no longer say the phrase "with liberty and Justice for all" in the "pledge." It's a little thing, but I won't give lipservice to a lie.

And with those words, I return this blog to things Anglican and Episcopalian.

PS I really, really hate HTML