It’s 22:30 — that’s 10:30 p.m. in non-military time — and it looks like Judge Robert Hanson is going to be staying with us. Whether or not the Iowa Supreme Court justices are going to make it is too close to tell, but it’s up in the air. As I write this, things look closer and closer.

I’ve got my fingers crossed that they all weather the political maelstrom, but something tells me that’s just not going to happen. The religious right came out swinging this election, and when the dust settles there’s sure to be some heads on pikes, unless, that is, by the grace of their God.

Republicans should have picked Hanson out of the fold to take down. I’ve thought the entire time that trying to fell all three Supreme Court justices was too much to do in one election. The scope of the retaliation needed to be narrowed onto one person, maybe two people at the very most.

As things look now, Hanson will make it through to rule for LGBT rights another day. This is a small victory for those that support the rights of the LGBT community — the idea that you are not limited to choosing from the opposite sex for your partner in marriage.

The more Iowa Supreme Court justices that survive the extensive and thorough political campaign against them, the stronger the victory for liberty. I guess I’ll be cutting my coffee with tears instead of cream tomorrow if I wake up and find that all three get snuffed by the conservative war machine.

This is the battle, though, and it won’t be over in my lifetime. I think that’s something my generation has to come to terms with. Although we make some headway in some respects, there will be a constant battle for what we’ve earned.

There will always be those that will be quick to rush in to any breach in our vigilance. I won’t know for sure until tomorrow how many the casualties number in this skirmish with the forces of darkness.

And yes, I will call them that. In my head, I can see some political campaign consultant saying, “The rebellion will be crushed,” while smoking an expensive cigar. Is that fair? Maybe not.

I’m not sure anyone willing to impose their own personal beliefs on how someone else should live their lives on an intimate level should be afforded the shield of a polite conversation.

At what point are we, as Iowans, just fed up with it? When is that text message urging you to go out and vote against LGBT marriage going to be the straw that broke the camel’s back?

Time is on our side. As our parents grow old and gray, we stride into the prime of our lives. Soon people from my generation will be making the decisions in this country; not soon enough, though.

“Land of the free” means what it says to me in the literal sense. In my heart and soul there are no asterisks over it. To me it applies to each individually with the same potency.

To some it’s not the same. There are many that think the “land of the free” mantra only applies to like-minded people. If someone’s life flies in the face of what they believe, then they can be discarded.

Maybe this plays more to the idea in people’s minds that ideologies are objects that never change. That if you were born and raised a certain way, then that must be the right way. How anyone can live without room for change and growth is something I don’t understand.

If you’ve seen what I write, you know this already. I’m sure there are many people that are rolling their eyes as they read this right now. “We know, we know,” they think, as they sit in class pretending to listen to their instructor.

I understand some of the eye-rolling apathy. The media, including myself, tends to play the part of the blowhard when it comes to touting their own ideologies.

You’ll have to excuse us, we’re emotionally invested people. It’s up to you to decide where that emotion comes from, and if it is invested in things that are positive or negative.

I’d like to thank everyone who went out and took time out of his or her day to vote. I personally know more than one person who voted for the first time just so they could vote to retain the judges.

Thank you, I appreciate it.

The battle for liberty will continue on many theaters and fronts. I hope I can continue to count on those with good hearts and sound minds. People willing to stop, listen and think.

Keep doing that.

Never give up on freedom.