This is the United States of America

This is the United States of America.  We’ve made it folks.  This is a nation committed to all its citizens.  That’s the lesson we learned last night.

Proving that point is what had me so stressed leading up to the vote. A tremendous amount of energy went into clinging to the old definition of America – a nation ruled by white men.  That’s changing rapidly, and Republicans would be well served to end the divisive rhetoric that led so many people to vote with rage.

Many of us are fed up with being told what is best for America.  A large segment of the population has fought the assumptions of white men in power.  Enough is enough.  We want shared government.  We demand a government that protects the rights of all people. 

We are a diverse nation.  We want to celebrate that diversity.  We’re fed up with white men forcing policies related to a woman’s body.  This is not the age of antiquity.  We don’t want a nation that grants men the power to keep women subjugated.  We want equal pay for women.  We deplore language that claims rape as the will of God. Shame on them for speaking on a topic they will never fully understand.

We expect fair treatment of gays and lesbians.  Our vote for Obama was an endorsement of his stance on gay rights.  Some voted for him despite his position.  They recognized that Biblical interpretation has no bearing in how one leads the nation.  Gays and lesbians pay taxes.  They have the right to love, marry and build family just like heterosexuals.  They are a part of our national family.

A number of states voted to allow same gender marriage.  Times are changing.  Things are shifting fast in America.

Our vote was cast for those who escaped hardship on the other side of the border.  They have made America their home.  We’re fed up with policies that minimize people due to their brown skin.  We’re sick of racial profiling.  We’re mad due to the mean ways of those in Arizona and other pockets of hate.  We’re standing for their right to call America home - just like those who fled from oppression long ago.

This election was a reminder of things fought to obtain.  The vote was a resounding no to voter suppression.  Black voters recognized the plan of Republicans.  It felt like old news.  It felt like the resurgence of poll taxes and Jim Crow.  This felt like old news – some mean plan to keep black people from voting.

Voters are sick of politicians who degrade the poor and weak.  This is a nation of more than the 47 percent.  We care about those going through hard times.  We understand the pain that comes with unemployment and having no money to pay medical bills.  We’re sick of the rich paying less while blaming the poor for the government’s deficient.  We want them to share in repairing what Republican policies created.

We’re sick of voodoo economic theory.  No more trickle down.  It doesn’t work.  We’re smart enough to read the bull Republicans speak.  Voters know what deregulation created.  We know about tax loopholes and accounts overseas.  We know of more plans to ship jobs overseas.  Voters can count the jobs lost due to the greed of corporations lured by cheap labor and low taxes somewhere else.

We know the greed of Wall Street.  We smell your intentions, but it won’t work.  This is our country too!  We demand to be respected.  We’re not stupid.  Americans know who caused the economic collapse.  We know why it happened.  It was due to the greed of rich white men who want more at the expense of the rest of America.

Enough is enough.  This is the United States of America.  We are a blue and red nation.  We demand better from Republicans.  Stop fighting to make a point.  We have spoken.  Fix it. Work with the President.

Create policy to protect the rights of women.  Find a way to embrace those in this country without citizenship.  Stop fighting gays and lesbians.  Consider all of us.  We are a nation of different faiths.  Get on board.  Stop pounding your Christians perspective as God’s will for all of us.  Get over your conceit.  Get over your bigotry and hate.

One last thing.  The youth expect you to get it.  If you don’t, expect more of the same.  14 to 17 year-olds will be voting for the first time in four years.  Add them to the numbers of people fed up with the politics of hate.

This nation belongs to all of us.  This is the United States of America.

And, yes, it’s wonderful being an American!

Rebuilding New Jersey is more important than politics

There’s nothing like a storm to bring proper perspective to the meaning of life.  It’s easy to forget there are more important things to deal with than the quest to win an election.

This past weekend brought greater clarity to what makes me tick.  I was reminded of love while performing the wedding ceremony for Drew Hill and Aidil Ortiz Collins.  Saturday was a day filled with thoughts that left me desiring to leap over the broom.  My day is coming soon.  Life is too short to waste.

Then there’s the storm.  It was hard for me to remain focused.  King, my son, was stuck in Washington, DC on his way to New York City.  Sandy was headed his way.  We talked as I unpacked my bags at the hotel in Richmond, VA.  No matter how old they get, you still worry about your babies.

I was stuck between the celebration of love and the fear of destruction.  Thoughts of the storm intensified as I waited for Connie to make her way to Richmond.  She drove alone.  She was set to arrive near midnight.  She drove in the rain.

I stayed at the hotel as the wedding party went salsa dancing.  My attention remained glued to the television to keep track of the storm.  “This is a record breaking storm,” a meteorologist said. “They will be talking about this one for decades.”

King is safe.  Connie made it to Richmond.  The storm has passed.

Then comes the morning.

Viewing the devastation leaves one numb.  You’re thankful it wasn’t you.  You’re sad for the people impacted by the storm. You’re left wondering what can be done to help them pull from under the rubbish.  Yes, it could have been me.  It could have been my son.  It could have been Connie. 

Knowing that isn’t enough to take the ache away.  Storms connect people.  All divides diminish when the wind and the waves come to pull down trees, destroy homes and take lives.  Storms remind us of things money can’t buy.  They don’t discriminate.  They can’t be controlled by the assumptions of power.

You can’t play games when lives have been lost and people are without utilities and homes.  There’s a job that must be done.

New Jersey Chris Christie understands what matters the most.

“The President has been all over this and he deserves great credit,” Christie said on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe”.  “He told me to call him if I needed anything and he absolutely means it, and it’s been very good working with the President and his administration.”

When asked if Mitt Romney would visit New Jersey, Christie replied, “I have a job to do. If you think right now I give a damn about presidential politics, than you don’t know me.”

The biggest news in the aftermath of Sandy is Christie’s praise of Obama. Articles have been written that accuse Christie of coming close to endorsing Obama.  Republicans want him to stop all the praise.  Questions have been raised about Romney’s opposition to continued funding of FEMA.  Yes, hurricane Sandy exposes the weakness of Romney’s plan to shift disaster relief to the states, but none of that takes precedent over what concerns Christie.

Christie is faced with rebuilding New Jersey.  Politics has to take the back seat.  He needs the support of the President, and he has received that support.  Not because it’s the politically correct thing to do, but because it’s the right thing to do.

Storms have a way of reminding us of what matters the most.  Be it love, the fragile nature of life or how quickly things can be taken away, storms teach us an important lesson.

You can’t play politics when people need a helping hand.