It will come as no surprise to readers here that we are, all three of us, passionate advocates for the rights of all minorites, very much including people who have alternative sexual orientations. Too, we have been seduced by the luster of the Obama campaign, to the extent of developing huge emotional investment in our "Audacity of Hope" for his Presidency.
After eight years of leadership by an administration where the leadership was inculcated with prelates from the religous right, now one of the first voices we will hear in this administration will be anti-gay, anti-reproductive freedom, anti-science, anti-secular values, Rick Warrren.
If Rick Warren were anti-semitic he'd not be on the inaugural podium. If he were, for example, the Chaplain of the the Ku Klux Klan (which is analogous to who he represents to the GLBT Community), he would not be on the podium.
The fact is there are two populations in the U. S. it is still OK to bash: members of the GLBT community and religious non-belieivers (like us). Obama is sanctioning this continued bigotry by having his inaguration's invocation given by one of the leading advocates of such bigotry. His supposed move to inclusion of evangelical Americans is a continuation and an endorsement of continuing the exclusion of these two populations.
Rick Warren would turn our country into a theocracy if he could. Obama has decided to validate this paradigm.
Will there ever be a day when my country will truly afford freedom of spiritual belief to all of us and deny the ability of bigots to exclude some human beings from their supposedly "inalienable" rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness? To paraphrase a great seventies rock song, we've been fooled again.
We've joined in online petition efforts to reach Obama and perhaps have some impact on this odious choice. If you are interested in doing likewise, here's the link:
Information about the opposition to this choice can be found at the following links:
I know this -- there will be no further voluntarism for, or contributions to, Barrack Obama from this family.
Tom
Go confidently in the direction of your dreams. Live the life you've imagined.
Hmmm...I rarely catch the news. I am usually doing other things when its on. So I had no idea there was any uproar about choices of Obama's.
ReplyDeleteMy first thought in all this is that Obama's campaign gathered together the voters who aren't usually heard from. He appealed to many groups and especially minorities while he was campaigning.
He got elected by these minorities, but once in office, he must represent everyone, including the bigots.
My thought about this is that while I'd prefer he chose a person who both sides of the religious right could endorse, he's made a choice that satisfies the group who didn't vote for him for the most part. That isn't a bad conciliatory gesture if you ask me. If he holds true to form across the board, his ethics will require him to be seen by everyone as a person willing to listen to all sides, even ones he doesn't agree with. That is what this country is all about.
I don't approve of this religious leader's politics either, but I stand by his right to live and preach according to his own ethical and moral viewpoints. He's got the same rights I do according to the constitution. If Obama ignores this, then this group of Americans becomes the minority and that's no more right than to ignore the rights of folks who love non-heterosexually and no traditionally.
Just some thoughts...
Hi,
ReplyDeleteFrom a distance I agree with Greenwoman, Obama does look like he's trying to be inclusive. One swallow doth not a summer make. Your country needs unity and that seems what he's trying to aim at. Right wing christians also consider themselves to be a bashed minority.
Blessings (from a left wing Christian)
I signed the petition.
ReplyDeleteAll day long, Thursday, I fussed over this issue. At first, I was right there with Greenswoman and Dinora. It's our "Kun-Bye-Yah" moment!! The world will hold hands on a mountaintop and share a Coke! And then I thought about all of the things I would miss if we embraced Warren's philosophy.
The GLBT movement would be dead. And polyamory?? We would all be jailed.
My right to Choose? Jail again, but with atleast I would have someone to share the cell with....my rapist's baby.
Science? Nooooo....only God can create a dinosaur, yanno!
I get the whole "inclusion" thing. Isn't that what we have been fighting for. Anti-Slavery, Women's right to vote, Roe V. Wade, "I have a dream...", Rosa Parks, Matthew Shepherd, Disability Rights, the rights for ALL PEOPLE to marry. I get it. And because of people like me, we will ALL get it. Warren on the other hand, hasn't a clue.
I spent the damned day, Election day, on the phones for Obama. I worked a polling site for Obama. I thought he was different. The "Change we could all believe in". If I wanted Rick Warren in my face, I would have voted for McCain. With him, I could atleast SEE the knife as it was heading to my heart!!! If Obama was looking for a contriversial pastor, he could have used his old one. If he was going to "God Damn America", he could have just tossed Rev. Jeremiah Wright up there! Atleast Wright supported ME!!!!!
I was going to take the day off to watch the world-changing inauguration...not now.
You pooped in the Post Toasties over this one, Barack....Fix it!
T
Excuse me, but Rick Warren is not the representative of some poor oppressed (yeah right!) religious minority. He is the leader of the movement that has just created the nullification of all existing gay marriages in California, and prevented anyone who is gay from being married in that state--a state which has a population so large that it ranks as large as the top dozen largest countries in the world. He advocates that women who have abortions should be convicted and executed as murderers. He espouses in TV interviews that homosexuality is equivalent to pedophilia and incest. He has advocated that the United States should assasinate the president of Iran. Now can you imagine how it would play in the world media if a new Iranian President led off his new administration by prayers from a "radical prelate" who espoused the assasination of the President of the U. S.? Now we in the U. S. have our very own radical prelate who advocates assasination of other country's heads of state leading off the formal presentation of our new administration to the world. Is this how we are going to regain our standing in the world? Beyond that "Reverend Warren" advocates that no one who is not a Christian should be allowed to hold public office. His aspiration is an American theocracy. Warren, I have no doubt, would have the three of us incarcerated for our lifestyle had he the opportunity.
ReplyDeleteIf our new President feels a need to reach out to bigots why doesn't he have Warren in to the white house for lunch and "significant conversation," not have him perform his inaugural invocation: the spiritual tone setter for the new administration. Perhaps he could include the Ku Klux Klan and the White Arryans and hold a national bigots' luncheon.
I literally feel heart sick at the sense of betrayal and loss this represents.
At least it took Clinton a year to throw the minority who has sexual orientation and gender identity differences from most of us under the bus. Obama hasn't even stepped into office before he has tossed them on the heap of irrelevance.
There should be no GLBT presence in the inauguration unless it is to protest this travesty.
Tom
Go confidently in the direction of your dreams. Live the life you've imagined.
I voted for Obama, but I never saw him as the second coming so many did. I agreed with him on many issues, was concerned about some numbers, experience in others, voted for him as the best choice. I have been so dissillusioned for so long with the rabid, adversarial, political, and polarized method of governing in the country right now that I did not feel the same magic.
ReplyDeleteI support propsition 8, and was hugely disappointed by it's failure. We must have the right to marry for these families. I was appalled by the behavior on both sides of the argument, however. Some christians believe that their religion requires them to vote against something they believe is against God's law. That does not make them bigoted unless they turn around and treat the person with hate and derision. If they behave "godly" and treat all with love, they are living their beliefs, not bigoted. The same with the other side : homosexual families simply want the right to live as families, but many of the religous right would have had you believe they were going to start raiding churches for children!
We've got to find a way to push these radicals to the outskirts, and open reasonable dialogues where reasonable people can agree o disagree and work together again.. I believe there are a great deal of average, reasonable people who could be reached reached and who would be willing to help if they weren't so afraid of being attacked, and bringing such vitriol into their lives. We need to take back our country.
To Impish1 I have to say: Voting basic civil liberties away from a group of people actually is treating them "with hate and derision", regardless of what belief leads them to that vote.
ReplyDeleteOtherwise, well, I started a comment here and then realized it was out of control - I made it a post on my own blog rather then spamming it out here. Thanks Tom, you inspired me to actually post something for the first time in... oh, over a year. Pop over and check it out if you like.
My best to the whole clan,
-Avid
Seems like a lot of anxiety and stress over a little thing. I can't remember the invocations of any other inaugural service. Can't remember who gave them or what they said. What makes you think one invocation is going to change the tide of the country. Relax. Making a big deal about it will just draw more attention to it and make it more important than it is. Maybe I'm just being simple about it, but if you don't like it, don't watch it. While I look at the Obama presidency with hope, I don't expect miracles or to be pleased 100%. We're all human.
ReplyDeletesigned and forwarded to many many others...
ReplyDeletethanks for bringing this to my attention. down here we don't get to hear all the ins and outs, but do get affected long-term in a global sense.
weirdgirl
Tom my concern over Obama always was and remains that I think the man took advantage of the dreamers to gain the presidency. I suspect and am afraid that we will see in time that Obama is a savvy showman and a politician, above all else. I did not like all of McCain's policies, and I do not believe Obama can deliver on all of his ideas. But I will say, I have to at least respect a man like McCain, with whom I think (?) you get what you see. I liked many (not all) of Obama's ideas, but believe he will leave many disillusioned voters in his wake. "Obama is going to pay my electric bill" was just so very sad to me! Empty promises aren't going to help our people. I do agree, Obama made a very poor choice here.
ReplyDeleteSara, I think you are right and I am feeling embarassed at this moment to say that I was one of those dreamers. As Doc Avid posted on his Blog, I really did come to think we were electing the 2000-ought's version of John Kennedy, and became hugely emotionally invested in my belief in him.....or my image of him. I am quite frankly feeling very embarassed that I could have been so naiive. I have been involved in public policy advocacy for 33 years and work directly with politicians on a routine basis. How could I have been so naiive to have believed and trusted any major federal level official, and how now do I afford myself the luxury of feeling hurt qnd betrayed when he begins to reveal the reality of his politicl leadership? I really bought it "hook line and sinker" and am now crashing rather hard. I thought I was smarter and way more experienced than this. I've allowed my political judgement to be overrun by very passionate emotion that was based on belief that something good and worthwhile could come out of the American political process once again.
ReplyDeleteAvid and Weirdgirl and Sara it was really good to hear your feelings. I began to wonder if perhaps we were the only people who felt like this.
Impish1 Thank you for expressing yourself. It is importnat we have these discussions and I appreciate your disagreeing with me/us. I have to disagree with you about the definition of bigotry and it relationship to religious beleif. Feeling you have the right to deny basic civil rights to a class of citizens because you feel your religious belief dictates that they are less worthy than other citizens IS BIGOTRY in its most heinous form. The racial bigots of the past felt very confirmed that their quest to oppress blacks was rooted in their Christianity. The Nazis extermination of the Jews was rooted in their religious belief. If you are polite and loving as you deny people the right to choose to bond into families around marriage, and blieve that denial is because of The Word of God, that in no way abrogates the heinousness of the bigotry you have committed.
I have gotten past the shock I felt about this, and the pain of the disillusionment I felt is dulling into an ache. For me now everytime I hear the omnipresent news about Obama's transition I feel like I did in 2004 when I listened to news about Busch's impending inaugeration.
Maybe this worked to broaden the inclusiveness of the inaugration for Republicans and the right wing Christians. I now feel excluded and feel like the inaugeration is just a bad dream that I want to ignore, avoid, forget and have past.
It will take a great deal to get me to ever support Barrack Obama again.
If there is a viable third party candidacy for 2012 I'd be happy to throw myself into working hard now to mount an opposition to Obama and whoever it is the Republicans will trot out.
I'll quit wallowing in this now and just deal with my feelings in silence. What a rube I've been!
Tom
Greenwoman, I didn't respond to you. First of all thank you for commenting on this. I think I may try to take a page out of your book and see if for the first time in decades I can do something I never do..........quit following the news. I usually spend lots of time with CNN and MSNBC and NPR. I am contemplating that from now through Christmas and if I could stand it through the inauguration, perhaps I can simply listen to music and wach movies, and read BDSM and poly Blogs and simply avoid all this until I have recdovered my bearings and gotten used to viewing Obama as an enemy.
ReplyDeleteTom
I hope there is no misunderstanding. I ARDENTLY disagree with these people. I think we can band together enough moral people to make them marginalized through law and vote, and we need to do it rapidly. I'm just very afraid of moving away from the concept of one man's right to vote their beliefs, however wrong they might be. And we need an immediate nationwide Prop 8 type push, like we had for the equal rights amendment, and it should continue until it's the law of the land.
ReplyDeleteI hope you are wrong about Obama. As I said, I'm disillisioned enough to view all with a jaunticed eye and wait and see what the future holds.
Ahhh, Impish1, I'd agree we need to end the state by state "voting" on issues of equality, but I will remind you that the equal rights amendment failed. There is no constitutional guarantee of equal rights for women in this country.
ReplyDeleteswan
Tom, I could have sworn I commented here last night! I'll try again. I understand the sense of embarrassment, because it is one I feel when I have been duped. I think you and I do the exact same job. I understand your knolwdge and experience, and as one who is often told I trust people too often, both in the personal and professional realm, I relate. However, when all is said and done, while I do not want to be taken, I never want to stop being a believer in the possibilities...of people, for change, for good things to happen. I think you feel this way too, given the byline you always use!
ReplyDeleteI suspect Obama will prove to be neither a savior nor an enemy, but more likely a middle of the road President. If the many people who voted for him can keep their voices loud, he and his team will need to hear us. What he does with that remains to be seen.
I hope you all have a most wonderful Holiday!
You are right, of course, but where are we if we give up?
ReplyDeletePlease don't give up and turn away. We have no other way to fight this, but the political process. I agree you have every right and reason to do do so. I only hope when you and your family have had time to rest, heal some, and realize how many truly care about you and families like you, that you will find the desire to try again.
Hmmm...I'm so glad you'll take a news break. I think that it is always wise to fast from the news occasionally. It can be pretty toxic stuff.
ReplyDeleteI think that its unwise to conclude anything about Obama based on one decision. I think that he's not among the group of men advising our president at the moment and until he is, I'm not going to assume that the pastor is helping to drive policy in my country. I don't assume that Obama is suddenly without any ethics because he's made this decision that I don't agree with. He'll make alot of decisions that I don't agree with. That's just the way of things. We aren't in his shoes weighing things with the viewpoint that a president has to view things with. He's going to make mistakes and he's going to make unpopular decisions just like any other president. And literally everyone will think he's made mistakes, but most of us will have very different lists about why that was. It all depends on what you think is important and whether he made decisions consistently according to what you approved of or not.
I think that its best to see this as just a moment in his presidency until time proves otherwise.
Until time proves that he's an idiot in disguise, I'm going to assume that he's doing what he has to do, which is glad hand all the different factions and land on the decisions that push the country toward the best possible future across the board. There's more issues to concern himself with than only these relationship ones that we are concerned with. Most people aren't concerned with this issue in our country. Its simply true. And most of the country are not in stiff economic times because of this issue. He's got much larger, more global issues to deal with and he's got to gland hand the people who will network him into valuable positions to get the job done. Buttheads like this guy may be among those he's got to use properly in order to do that for us. Its simply true. That's how politics and the presidency works. It will always be that way. So long as he's making our over all economic and ecological and social situations better, I'll let the state governments sort this out. In the end, all states will have equality on marriage rights. I feel confident about that. What I need from the president is that he drive us toward prosperity, peace and a clean place to live in this world. We can do the rest ourselves.
Really in the end, he has to take many things into account and I hope he is a smart enough person to get truly ethical, truly bipartisan, truly earnest, truly experienced and truly wise people to advise him in his presidency. He'll pick some buttheads among the peaches. The good thing about that can be that he'll know how the buttheads think. So long as he doesn't let any buttheads drive policy for us, I"ll be happy.
We shall see. ((hugs)) Have a good holiday Tom. *smiles*