Happy Birthday America.
And get well soon.
You haven’t been great in a few years, but the good people of the world still have faith. We still believe in the greatness upon which you were founded. True freedom. Authentic equality. Liberty for all.
A land that has no place for hate.
A land that welcomes everyone who wants to make a better life for themselves.
A land where this pansy-ass half-Filipino faggot was denied marrying the man he loved for the first ten years of their relationship – but where we eventually made it happen. That doesn’t negate all the years it took to get here.
And so I continue to push the freedoms we have, for those who still don’t have them. Whether it’s their family predicament, or the bigotry, racism, or homophobia around them, we will always seek something better. That’s the real essence of the American dream.
And so we keep trying. We keep working on it. We keep on keeping on.
Like our hollowed out pool, rusted and lined with sand, awaiting its new incarnation, we just need a little tune-up.
Like my forty-four-year-old half-naked body, ravaged by the relentless march of time, by restless nights, harsh mornings, and needless worry – on incessant display because that’s the American way. Fake it until you make it.
We will rise. Like stars, shimmering in a dark firmament, following the moon, following the sun, following the centuries and the civilizations…
