(Update)
I am altering my position on Obama's decision to ask Rick Warren to offer a prayer at his Inauguration.
How can a person in 2008 actually equate the millions of same-sex couples who are raising kids, working hard, and holding our communities together with "pedophiles" and "deviants?" Yet that is what Rick Warren has done.
How can a minister, a man of God, tolerate a program that tries to "cure" people of their sexual preference? Is he utterly oblivious of science?
I'm sorry, but all of the positive aspects of including an evangelical minister on the big stage of Obama's Inauguration pale in comparison to the hurt this choice will inflict on gay and lesbian couples.
The saddest thing I heard today, from a dear friend and colleague, was that his band, the first gay/lesbian band ever invited to participate in an Inaugural ceremony, was thinking of withdrawing from the event, because Warren is such an insensitive choice for Obama to have made.
Sorry, my realpolitik friends, but I agree. In every important historical moment, matters of principle must trump pragmatism, if the leader in question hopes to achieve the status of a transformative figure.
Dear Mr. Obama: Dis-invite Warren.
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1 comment:
After watching a Rick Warren give his sentiments on Proposition 8, I really can't understand why the president-elect invited him to begin with. The inauguration had already turned into a dog and pony show by virtue of all the money being spent on it at this time of great need. I'm glad to hear that any invited participant, regardless of it being a first-time event, would withdraw because of someone like Rick Warren's participation. There are far too many wonderful (and generalist, therefore appealing to many) religious representatives (and this comes out of the mouth of an atheist) who could do the deed. I hope that the gay and lesbian communities, along with everyone else, object to the point that changes are made immediately.
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