All morning I watched as positive reactions filled my
Facebook page. But probably the most
poignant of all was this one, from a dear college friend:
It affected me deeply, but not so much because it shows how
it feels when a barrier comes crashing down, which in itself is huge. Barriers are rarely toppled so
decisively. With a few notable
exceptions, like the literal and symbolic barrier of the Berlin Wall coming
down, barriers generally come down in such small increments that one day we
look up and finally realize that they’re now, somehow, much more surmountable.
But that’s not why this post, especially, brought me to
tears. This ruling was the removal of a
veil and a gag, enabling love and marriage to be a vision that anyone of us can
now see as our option. Think of how
seeing yourself as part of a scene allows you to play your role. This is everything. Think of the young girls today who can
envision themselves as engineers, physicians, astronauts, rather than the
limited number of career options available to them a couple generations
ago. Think of children of color who can
envision themselves today receiving the education they deserve, free from
segregation. Think of two people in love
who can now share the rights and privileges today’s ruling finally permits.
Unless and until you can see yourself as part of the
picture, you can’t know how far your dreams extend, how much you can
accomplish, that what we can barely fathom in our dreams can indeed come to pass. This is why MLK’s “I Have a Dream” speech
still resonates today. He was planting a
vision of a better world in our collective dreams. Today we moved closer to that dream of
equality, which is perhaps even more stirring after the darkness behind last
week’s attack in Charleston moved us away from it.
A memory: When I put
on my first pair of glasses as a young girl, I could distinctly see what
previously had been blobs and blurs. I
saw with new eyes a new world: images
and words all at once in focus, sharp and clear. And I was filled with wonder. This day, yes, feels like that: filled with wonder and joy that at times we
can see tangibly that love is indeed stronger than hate.
