Goddamn, talk about pastor problems. First outrage over Rev Wright, then over Pastor Otis Moss, and now Rick Warren. Now for some background, Rick Warren was a staunch proponent of Proposition 8 out in California, and has said some pretty nasty things about gay rights and abortion. And even though Barack Obama disagrees on these issues he has still selected Pastor Rick Warren to give the invocation at the inauguration, and the gay and lesbian community along with many on the left have gone into an uproar. They say "how could you give this man such a platform, legitimizing him and his views". Well if that's the case then how could the left support Obama sitting down with dictators such as Raul Castro and thus fore "legitimizing" him?
All during the campaign the view from the right has been how that negotiating with the Castro's, and the Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's of the world would give them a platform and legitimize their hate filled speech and evil acts. And now the left, who supported Obama in negotiating with these kinds of people, are now using the same logic against him for having Pastor Rick Warren give a prayer at the inauguration. From day one of Obama's campaign he has spoken of "starting a dialect between differing points of view". This is nothing new for him. So I don't see why all the shock and ballyhoo. Also of note is the fact that the man giving the benediction, Rev Joseph E Lowery, is the complete opposite of Rick Warren. He's pro gay rights, pro choice, and very much a leader on civil rights. So the opening prayer goes to the anti-gay preacher and the closing prayer goes to the pro-gay preacher. Seems fair to me.
Obama has an amazing ability to take from people the issues they can find agreement on and work with them on those issues, no matter how radical some of their views may be. He found agreement with unrepentant terrorist Bill Ayers on education, so they worked on education. He found agreement with Rev Wright on God and poverty, so they worked together on those issues. He found agreement with Senator Brownback (whose as far right wing as they come) on AIDS in Africa, so they worked together on that issue. And he found agreement with Senator Luger on nuclear proliferation, so they worked together on that issue.
So if the left can't be cool with Pastor Rick then how can they be cool with Obama sitting down with Ahmadinejad who has said that he doesn't believe in the Holocaust? You can talk with, work with, and deal with people who don't completely agree with you. Tolerance also means being tolerable to people who don't agree with your view of tolerance. And it's that sort of inclusive kumbaya approach that is going to get our country back on the right track. Obama and Castro aren't going to agree on whether Communism or Democracy is the path for Cuba, but they can come to an agreement that allows trade relations and for Cuban-Americans to go visit their families. And Obama and Rick Warren aren't going to agree on gay rights and abortion but they do agree on climate change, poverty, health care, and the fight against HIV-AIDS, so why not work together to tackle those issues that they do agree on.
It's time to stop letting these great divides divide us from common purposes that we do agree on. Or as Barack Obama said today "that dialogue I think is part of what my campaign's been all about, that we're not going to agree on every single issue, but what we have to do is to be able to create an atmosphere where we can disagree without being disagreeable, and then focus on those things that we hold in common as Americans."
8 comments:
oh come on . . . the Castros have legitimized THEMSELVES, as with all other WORLD leaders. i don't think you understand the progressive depth of any REAL foreign diplomacy. i also don't think you understand why someone like myself would criticize Obama for "legitimizing" anyone of Rick Warren's more "fancy" form of stature. I strongly urge to look carefully at the minds you are arguing with, and in this case, be sure its the same one you're arguing for.
"You can talk with, work with, and deal with people who don't completely agree with you."
Yes, you can. But you don't have to literally ask for their blessing.
In the eyes of a significant number of Obama's supporters (including mine) Rick Warren teaches hate. He of course has the right to preach it to his congregation, just like the KKK has the right to burn crosses if they've filled out the proper paperwork. But Barack's not just taking a meeting with him, or even sitting in on a sermon. He's asking Rick Warren to be a representative of his administration on the day of his inauguration.
Personally I think gay marriage should be legal, not just for moral reasons but for legal reasons. And I think Rick Warren is an idiot for equating gay marriage to pedophilia. But at the same time I think this is a great pick because of all the issues that Rick Warren is right on. And the man gives like 90% of his earnings to issues like poverty and AIDS (considering his book is a worlds best seller that's a lot of good work he's funding). And politically I think it's a great pick as well because it extends an olive branch out to those that disagree with him. This is one of the most divided major industrialized nations in the world, so we have to bring folks together, no matter how much they may disagree. And by inviting Rick Warren to give the invocation you are extending a huge olive branch out to millions of Americans. He's trying to be the great unifier. That's how he ran and now that's how he's governing.
It's just a shame that Barack Obama has chosen to condone ignorance and hate when he could have chosen to refute it.
Gay marriage is not a moral or a legal issue, it's a civil rights issue
There's a lot of people Obama is going to have to deal with over the next four years that have said far worse things than Rick Warren could ever dream of.
You don't seem to realize that there's a huge difference between "dealing with" Imadinnerjacket because he's the leader of an important nation and hand-picking Rick Warren over thousands of less offensive ministers to be the representative of your administration's views on spirituality.
Let's be real, it was a total political move. Most Evangelical Christians (including my family) eat up the divine words of Rev. Warren. Every President has these "Superstar" preachers come to the White House to talk to the president, Billy Graham being the most famous, having met with every president since Taft.
Perhaps his choice was focused on ending the "Is he a Muslim?" conversation once and for all. Once Rev. Rick Warren tells his sheep, "Listen, sheep, Barack Obama is right with the Lord and he lives in his heart. He's just like you and hangs out with me," it becomes a lot less cool and mainstream to keep calling him a Musloextremist Secroterrorist.
How about not pandering to the the extremo right whatesoever and start making steps progress beyond that bullshit.
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