I'm wondering if Obama is just a mere politician pandering to those that voted for him and triangulating support - or if he really is pulling Ninja stealth moves and we're really slow on the uptake? Is he giving oxygen to haters or sucking out poison from a snake? The pick of Rick Warren to deliver the Inauguration Invocation, which is the opening prayer and lasts 5-10 minutes, caused a major uproar from Gay Rights advocates and rightfully so. I wondered however if people were overreacting and placing more significance than it warranted.
Dr. Joseph Lowery is giving the Benediction, the closing prayer, which is 15-20 minutes or so and he is an advocate. Also there are other 'openly gay' scheduled participants scattered throughout the events of the day. I have a problem with those advocates who want to decry the Warren pick but won't examine their own privilege as well as those that don't build relationships with others across various communities.
I find it very telling when so many white gays were quick to attack Black people when they didn't get what they wanted. I am also equally if not more appalled by the animus displayed by many Black people who are claiming moral hierarchy in condemning homosexuality and some people's stubborn insistence that they are "only quoting the word of God". Meanwhile, the Black community such that it is, has fast disintegrated into a cesspool of dysfunction and evil that far permeates any argument against teh gay.
But people don't want to hear it. I'm having an ongoing conversation - argument if you will - at a black-oriented political blog about this very issue. Those people that cling to their very selective Bible quotations do not want to have a real conversation about dogma versus compassion. Or even a brief review of history, from the Crusades, to slave trading, to bombing health care workers and clinics. It's all in the name of the Lord! So there may never be a point of agreement. What didn't go unnoticed was the voting trends of the so-called evangelicals who voted for the Democratic nominee in such large numbers this election cycle while white gays and lesbians voted Republican.
What I also find interesting is how Warren is making nice nice with teh gay, well Melissa Etheridge and one owner of a store in West Hollywood. You know, other white people, because yet again Blacks are not a part of this conversation except to blame or to bash each other. Warren has also been busy sanitizing his web site of all the fire and brimstone condemnation. Which only proves my point that he is a false prophet and snake oil salesman hawking 'religion' to make his name and fortune.
If he really believed what he preached he should not publicly change his stance to curry favor with the incoming President. Which brings me back to Obama and wondering if he chose Warren knowing he would start backpedaling in favor of.....a favorable spotlight. Of course it could also be because of the pressure he's getting from gay advocates, though he didn't seem to care about them before under cloak of "my religious beliefs are this".
If the Warren choice neuters his animus then Obama may have accomplished more in the course of a few weeks than others have tried for years. Those that follow Warren will be forced to disavow themselves - as some have done - or rethink their position because their "leader" has done so. Even though the effort is minor, any budging at all signifies a huge shift. Maybe people will start thinking for themselves for a change instead of blinding following a guy on a pulpit.
I could be wrong though. Now can we also talk about his views on abortion?
photo source: Getty
