Many voices One sound

Waking up before noon on a weekend is a confusing experience for me. Perhaps my mind is just unaware that the “AM” realm of time exists on weekends as well as weekdays. Who knows? As perplexing as it is for me, I know not to waste the precious morning hours I have remaining. The major benefit of sleeping so late is that by this point almost all my friends are awake and doing things so I don't have to be apart of the drawn out planning stages of an activity. I remember a group was heading down to protest Prop 8 and since I hadn't fought for civil rights in ages I decided to round up some stragglers and head down.

We met up with the March around 4^th & Fir streets and proceeded to blend into the crowd. Maybe blend isn't the right word since most everyone had a sign or shirt supporting equality and we looked like we had just rolled out of bed and trucked over from PB. This is in fact what we had done and I could tell some of my fellow freedom fighters took notice but didn't care since we were there supporting in our best capacity.

It was fascinating to see 20,000 or so people marching through the streets of downtown with car horns blaring and chants being shouted. The buildings seemed to resonate the passion being displayed as we blocked intersections and cheered for tolerance. Rarely do you have the opportunity to take you individuality and combine it with so many others to become one voice. It me feel as though I were a tiny drop in a sea of people but with all our force we could reshape the world.

I'm not sure how far we traveled as we passed from parks to buildings to ocean. With each step I felt more united with those around me. The vibrations of their voices echoing in my chest. The field of colors constantly shifting and moving for blocks ahead. The sheer energy that had caught us all in its wake...

It has been a very long time since I felt so connected to my fellow man. Despite our different backgrounds and beliefs we were all united under a blazing hot sun to fight for those who couldn't fight alone. No longer was it a tabled discussion between competing ideals. No longer was it an opinion or a disagreement. We brought the tide of equality and sent its wave crashing against the rocks of ignorance and injustice.

After we had reached the end of our trek and our impression had been made, several of us decided to retire to a local bar and reminisce. Even though we had all taken part, we all had different stories and impressions of the experience. We had fought as one and brought our individuality to the battle. Its this type of community that can move mountains. Its this type of strength that can create change.