let us not admit impediments

Some joyous news, at last: South Africa's Constitutional Court has just ruled in favor of equal marriage, although implementation is to be delayed for a year to give Parliament time to amend the law. I'm celebrating for all my dear South African friends--Sim, W, UB, hurrah!!--whether or not they will be taking advantage of said legal right, they must be so proud today of this victory for human rights. Nkosi sikelel'i Afrika.

In Cape Town and in Oxford, I had the great privilege of hearing from and meeting with some of the current and former members of the SA Constitutional Court, and came away with a sense of not just admiration, but something approaching envy. Despite the immense obstacles their country faced, the sense of opportunity and conviction these remarkable people had about the task of implementing the new Constitution (which is an amazing document) and the sheer scope of the immediate potential for change--and their own ability to help realize it--was breathtaking. I've rarely sensed that kind of optimism and possibility in this country, and the contrast was so saddening. But--back to the subject of the post--this was one of the moments I did, even if the revolution wasn't sustained. I'm holding out hope that we'll win this battle here, too. Washington (this one, not the District) is getting close already.