One step forward, and several back...
First off, yay Obama. I think that the switch from a man who comes off as a bumbling, fumbling, Texan cowboy to an erudite, eloquent man is in itself a huge step forward. Add in the fact that Obama's managed to overcome long-standing racial barriers, and the increased voter turnouts in some key populations (youth, black, etc.) and it's a big step forward. I should also mention that I found John McCain's concession speech to be very classy, although I was dismayed that the crowd listening to it didn't appear to hear his message for working with Obama, cheering instead for 'Palin 2012'. (Facedesk!). Furthermore, while Obama won a sweeping victory by the number of electoral seats, percentage of popular vote wise, there's a pretty even spilt. Which is concerning, but not as much as the first issue below.
-- Bans against gay marriage were enacted in Florida, Arizona, and (most likely, at this point) CALIFORNIA. Furthermore, Arkansas enacted a ban against non-married (ex. gay) couples being eligible for adopting children. Now, I'm all for gay marriage, but even if I wasn't, I'm all for people's basic human rights being protected. And freedom of your sexual identity should be amongst those. Marriage, nowadays, is more about a legal documentation than it is about any sort of religious connotation, and even if your religion is against gay marriage, there's no reason YOU have to be. Just because your church is stupid and discriminatory, doesn't mean you have to follow, lemming-like, in it's footsteps. I guess you don't have to treat other people with respect and dignity if you don't like what they do in the bedroom. And on the adoption issue, I think that if a gay couple is willing to adopt a child and raise them as their own, well, the couple, the child, and the system would all be better off if more kids were in a stable family environment. Just because they're gay doesn't mean they're going to 'corrupt' the orphans. Of course, they might raise them to be open-minded, and then where would the world be?
On the bright side:
-- Anti-abortion bans got universally rejected in South Dakota and Colorado, while California seems to be voting against required notification of parents/guardians of minors who seek out an abortion. (Haven't really decided on a position on this last one: on one hand, the support of parents could be helpful, on the other, fear of reprimands could cause minors to seek out alternative/dangerous abortion methods. And really, if you're old enough to be having consensual sex, I kinda think the consequences are yours to deal with.). Excellent sign for the pro-choice side of things, although the whole Dr. Morgentaler - Order of Canada debate here, up north, indicates how much farther we as a society have to go. Particularly awesome is the rejection of the Colorado 'Human life from moment of conception' ban, which would have made illegal abortion and some methods of birth control, while firmly supporting the religious anti-abortion side of things.
-- Legalization of marijuana, for medical purposes in Michegan. If it helps, it helps, and it has been seen as an effective therapy and one that should be allowed, for those who need it. I'm okay with the legalization of small amounts of marijuana, anyways. There's worse things you could be doing, and hell, cigarettes are legal.
-- Also in Michegan, they voted to lift some restrictions on stem cell research. Fantastic news, as the scientific investigations into pluripotent stem cells potential for treatment of some major conditions is a source of hope and potential for the future.
And then the issue I can't decide about:
-- In Washington, it looks like 60% of the population is voting for allowing doctor-assisted suicide, for adult, mentally competent, patients who are projected to have less than 6 months left to live. The drugs would be prescribed by a doctor, but self-administered. I'm definitely leaning on the side of 'for' this issue, mainly because I know myself well enough to know that if I was told, 'Yeah, you'll live for six months, but hey, it'll be in excruciating agony' I'd rather go on my own terms. Tie up all loose ends, get funeral arrangements made, and end my life painlessly and quickly, without dragging it on and being a burden to my family. On the other hand, medical predictions are NOT by any means accurate. Sure they might be right 90% of the time, but what about that other 10%? And sometimes, there's no apparent reason for why a person manages to do better. And I'm a bit concerned about how this might affect patients' treatment. Will doctors project life-expectancies of less than six months, knowing that their patient could ask for doctor-assisted suicide? Sure, they should. But they're human too, and have all their own biases. Including some nutbars, who probably imagine that anyone committing suicide is going to end up in hell, next to the gays, and proponents of abortion.
So, good on America for choosing Obama. I hope that he does well, even with the piss-poor hand he's been dealt, and if he can begin to moderate even some of the more right-wing views then I think it'll be a major advance. On the other hand, any country that takes away the rights of a group of their countrymen has a lot of progress to make.
-- Bans against gay marriage were enacted in Florida, Arizona, and (most likely, at this point) CALIFORNIA. Furthermore, Arkansas enacted a ban against non-married (ex. gay) couples being eligible for adopting children. Now, I'm all for gay marriage, but even if I wasn't, I'm all for people's basic human rights being protected. And freedom of your sexual identity should be amongst those. Marriage, nowadays, is more about a legal documentation than it is about any sort of religious connotation, and even if your religion is against gay marriage, there's no reason YOU have to be. Just because your church is stupid and discriminatory, doesn't mean you have to follow, lemming-like, in it's footsteps. I guess you don't have to treat other people with respect and dignity if you don't like what they do in the bedroom. And on the adoption issue, I think that if a gay couple is willing to adopt a child and raise them as their own, well, the couple, the child, and the system would all be better off if more kids were in a stable family environment. Just because they're gay doesn't mean they're going to 'corrupt' the orphans. Of course, they might raise them to be open-minded, and then where would the world be?
On the bright side:
-- Anti-abortion bans got universally rejected in South Dakota and Colorado, while California seems to be voting against required notification of parents/guardians of minors who seek out an abortion. (Haven't really decided on a position on this last one: on one hand, the support of parents could be helpful, on the other, fear of reprimands could cause minors to seek out alternative/dangerous abortion methods. And really, if you're old enough to be having consensual sex, I kinda think the consequences are yours to deal with.). Excellent sign for the pro-choice side of things, although the whole Dr. Morgentaler - Order of Canada debate here, up north, indicates how much farther we as a society have to go. Particularly awesome is the rejection of the Colorado 'Human life from moment of conception' ban, which would have made illegal abortion and some methods of birth control, while firmly supporting the religious anti-abortion side of things.
-- Legalization of marijuana, for medical purposes in Michegan. If it helps, it helps, and it has been seen as an effective therapy and one that should be allowed, for those who need it. I'm okay with the legalization of small amounts of marijuana, anyways. There's worse things you could be doing, and hell, cigarettes are legal.
-- Also in Michegan, they voted to lift some restrictions on stem cell research. Fantastic news, as the scientific investigations into pluripotent stem cells potential for treatment of some major conditions is a source of hope and potential for the future.
And then the issue I can't decide about:
-- In Washington, it looks like 60% of the population is voting for allowing doctor-assisted suicide, for adult, mentally competent, patients who are projected to have less than 6 months left to live. The drugs would be prescribed by a doctor, but self-administered. I'm definitely leaning on the side of 'for' this issue, mainly because I know myself well enough to know that if I was told, 'Yeah, you'll live for six months, but hey, it'll be in excruciating agony' I'd rather go on my own terms. Tie up all loose ends, get funeral arrangements made, and end my life painlessly and quickly, without dragging it on and being a burden to my family. On the other hand, medical predictions are NOT by any means accurate. Sure they might be right 90% of the time, but what about that other 10%? And sometimes, there's no apparent reason for why a person manages to do better. And I'm a bit concerned about how this might affect patients' treatment. Will doctors project life-expectancies of less than six months, knowing that their patient could ask for doctor-assisted suicide? Sure, they should. But they're human too, and have all their own biases. Including some nutbars, who probably imagine that anyone committing suicide is going to end up in hell, next to the gays, and proponents of abortion.
So, good on America for choosing Obama. I hope that he does well, even with the piss-poor hand he's been dealt, and if he can begin to moderate even some of the more right-wing views then I think it'll be a major advance. On the other hand, any country that takes away the rights of a group of their countrymen has a lot of progress to make.