I have had my share of frustrations with President Obama...not going as far as I thought he ought to. Not taking credit for the things his policies, and Democratic policies - have wrought.
No, our country is far from perfect, and our "recovery" has touched far fewer than I would like to see.
I have siad, half-jokingly and more than half-seriously:
I voted, TWICE, for Hope And Change...but I have YET to see the change I was HOPING for.
Tonight, I got something I had never even hoped for, and I owe the President thanks from the bottom of my heart...for how much it meant to me...to be acknowledged as a legitimate, whole, worthwhile person, due the same rights and privileges everyone else takes for granted.
I was listening to the State Of The Union Address tonight...and this is where I got something I had never even DARED to hope for:
As Americans, we respect human dignity, even when we're threatened, which is why I've prohibited torture, and worked to make sure our use of new technology like drones is properly constrained. It's why we speak out against the deplorable anti-Semitism that has resurfaced in certain parts of the world. It's why we continue to reject offensive stereotypes of Muslims -- the vast majority of whom share our commitment to peace. That's why we defend free speech, and advocate for political prisoners, and condemn the persecution of women, or religious minorities, or people who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender. We do these things not only because they're right, but because they make us safer.
President Obama...you are the first American President to EVER mention transgender people in the State of the Union...and use the State of the Union to say what I, and my fellow transgender Americans have been saying for decades:
The persecution of transgender people is WRONG.
Condemning the persecution of transgender people is the RIGHT thing to do.
Mr. President, I owe you a sincere and heartfelt "Thank You!"
For the first time in my life, I now know I have a President to whom I matter - to whom my transgender brothers and sisters matter. Thank you, President Obama!