As proud as I am today to call myself an American, I am ashamed to call myself a Californian.

Barack Obama is the new President Elect. What an amazing, historic event. Words fail me when I try to describe just how happy and proud I am that my home country reached the evolutionary point where this can happen.

But then I turn my eyes to the state of my birth, California. It has always been considered a trend setting state with liberal views and an unquestioned acceptance of people regardless of their race, religion, sex or sexual orientation.   However I am watching the votes come in for Proposition 8.

A “Yes” vote for Proposition 8 is a vote to put a (state) constitutional ban on gay marriages.  And right now, as I type this the “Yes” votes are winning.  How long ago was it that cross-race marriages were treated with the same level of bigotry? We can elect a black man as President but we can’t accept that two loving people might want to get married, regardless of their sex?

California, I am ashamed to call you my home.  And my heart and hopes goes out to all the people affected by this tragic onslaught of fear and bigotry.

In China, I witnessed something very promising.  Something that filled me with hope for this country that has become my home away from home.

I was invited to attend an America Votes party held by the American Chamber of Commerce here in Guangzhou, China.  The event was held in a large ballroom at the China Hotel.  

When I got the invite, I thought that it would be just a group of 20 or so expats sitting around watching the election results and talking politics.  Since that sounded like more fun than sitting behind my office desk I decided to go.

When I walked into the room it was filled with hundreds of people.  Hundreds of Chinese people. And of course the 20-30 expats who actually had the right to vote in the election they were watching the results of.

By the entry door were several large baskets filled with buttons for McCain & Obama.  The Obama buttons went very, very quickly and the McCain buttons were practically untouched.  It was easy to see who this group was hoping for.

The American Chamber of Commerce even setup mock election booths so the Chinese people could participate in the voting experience.  Even though they knew their votes would not officially matter, it did not stop them from cueing up in long lines to place their vote.

While I stood there talking with my expat friends we were constantly approached by groups of Chinese university students and other Chinese people who all wanted to hear our views on who we voted for, why we voted for them and about the democratic process in general.

It was amazing to me just how eager they all were to see how this election went, how eager they were to see the restoration of the American reputation and how it would affect their lives and the future of their own country.  I was very proud of every person I spoke with today.  Their courage and desire to open their minds really say a lot about the promise of China’s future.

Having Barack Obama elected President shows how far America has come as a country and how dedicated they are to making it a country that the world looks up to once again.  However, the passing of Proposition 8 (the gay marriage ban) in California shows how very, very far we have got left to go.

Today America has shown that it too is like our newest President. It isn’t perfect and it will make mistakes (sometimes huge ones) but overall, it tries to do the right thing.