A Valentine’s Day message about love, hope, hard work—and how we can win in the end

Love conquers all, it is said. Not really, of course. And especially not now, it seems, as authoritarians around the world fan the fire of hate and ride it to power.

And yet all is not as it seems. Because, over time, with hope, passion and hard work, those of us who believe in love, who care about our planet and the people we share it with—we can win.

We know we can because we’ve done it before. Marriage equality is one example—and a good one, on this Valentine’s Day. It’s now the law of the land. But there was a time, not so long ago, when it seemed marriage equality would never happen. In 2004, an election year, conservatives were so confident in the anti-gay bias of voters that they put same-sex marriage bans on the ballot in 13 states—and won in all 13.

And yet look now. Marriage equality is the law nationwide and enjoys at least a plurality of public support in every U.S. state. Two-thirds of Americans are in favor of marriage equality.

Working together, we did it

Here at CREDO Mobile, we’ve been fighting for marriage equality since our founding, in 1985. Long before the Supreme Court’s 2015 decision in Obergefell v. Hodges, which made same-sex marriage legal across the U.S., hundreds of thousands of CREDO Mobile customers took action for the cause. In the years prior to Obergefell, we fought for and won the freedom for all to marry in dozens of states.

We also donated millions of dollars to groups working for marriage equality, including the National LGBTQ Task Force, Freedom to Marry, Courage Campaign, the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network, International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Campaign and the ACLU.

The campaign was long and it was difficult. But in the end we won. And we proved that individuals working together can overcome immense challenges, change millions of minds and win for causes that improve the lives of many people, not just the powerful few.

So what else can we do?

In 2004, 60% of Americans opposed same-sex marriage. Today, 69% of Americans support it. This didn’t happen by chance. It happened because those of us who have always believed in marriage equality worked hard for a lot of years and made it happen.

In that 2004 election, bans on marriage equality won in all 13 of the states where they were on the ballot. Today, bans on marriage equality would undoubtedly be defeated in all states but a few. The only way now for religious extremists to overturn the Obergefell precedent would be by decision of the Supreme Court. So yes, given the court’s current makeup, we can’t let our guard down.

But we can get our hopes up. Even now, as the cloud of a vengeful political movement casts darkness across the country, we can keep our dreams alight, knowing that if we have patience and work hard we can win for the causes we care about. We did it on marriage equality. And we can do it again—on climate change, reproductive rights and any other issue we put our collective shoulder to.

We recently celebrated Martin Luther King Jr. Day. We should remember what he once said: “The arc of the moral universe is long but it bends toward justice.” We should also remember that it only bends if people put in the effort to bend it.

Join the phone company that shares your values

One phone company puts in that effort. One stands with you in support of marriage equality and other progressive values: CREDO Mobile.

To date, we’ve donated over $95 million to nonprofit groups dedicated to the causes you care about. Groups like Friends of the Earth, Reproductive Freedom For All, Social Security Works and Family Equality. Causes like climate action, equal rights and reproductive freedom.

Join us and you’ll get all you want from your mobile service: competitive plans, great deals on new devices and the nation’s top-rated, most reliable network.

And you’ll get much more. You’ll get an easy, effective way to make positive change by generating donations for nonprofits that fight for a better world. These donations cost you nothing extra—but they mean everything to the groups we support.

Switching is easy. You can bring your current device and your current number. Go to CREDOMobile.com to learn more.