We Americans say all the time, "God Bless America."
We say it; we sing it; we write it on the banners and the pamphlets and the church signs... but we don't really appreciate its meaning.
God has already blessed America, you see; whatever God is. The gift of free will was given to us from whomever or whatever, in an instance or an aeon, a long, long time ago. The creating force of mankind gave us the power of choice.
Choices like: "What am I going to do today?"; "Who do I vote for?"; "What electronic device should I buy next, and from whom?"; "Really, what do I believe anyway?"; and "Should I marry the one I love?" are made possible thanks to this universal human trait.
For some, God is nature; a lifeless force; the Universe. For others, God is a person; an intelligent and loving Creator; a friend.
God blessed America before it even existed; God blessed America at the dawn of mankind. Some would disagree, but I believe God has blessed America once more tonight. Some of us may not understand it. Some of us may feel hurt and betrayed by our country for compromising the integrity of the Biblical institution of marriage. However, I do not. Whoever, whatever God is or was; whether the Good Book was right or not; even if homosexual acts are really a sin (and even I believe they are, but so is stealing from the cookie jar), nothing really outrageous happened tonight except a long-overdue acknowledgement of the God-given right to free will.
No matter what you believe, I think every reasonable person on this Earth can agree... this is a victory for us all, and New York State has been truly blessed tonight.
God bless every loving gay or lesbian couple out there tonight. God bless New York State; God bless the Senators and especially those four Republicans who took a stand for what is right.... and once more, with feeling: God bless the United States of America.