Honjii's Harangues

The Obama, Warren Controversy – A Different Perspective

I’m glad Obama won the election.  I was so thrilled when the returns came in I cried, and I don’t think I could have wiped the smile from my face the next day had I tried.  It felt as if we had, at long last, been liberated from our oppressors.  I think Obama is intelligent, level headed, and his little finger is far more capable than McCain’s whole body, to assume the Presidency.  I am also elated that we will finally have a President who is not a middle aged white man.  That being said, when the primaries first got underway Obama was not my first choice.

Now there is a new controversy brewing because Obama has chosen Rick Warren to give the invocation at his inauguration.  Geeze, could we go a freakin’ week in this country without getting our collective panties in a bunch?  Pastor Warren is an anti-gay pro-lifer.  So what?  He is still a member of the clergy which adds a religious element to an integral part of a  major governmental proceeding.  That’s the part that bothers me, and if people are going to be bitching and moaning I think that is the part they ought to bitch and moan about.  Religion has no place in government, period!

To stray from the path a bit, I have to say I’m surprised and disappointed in Obama’s stance on gay marriage.  I don’t know if he is really against it, or he is/was smart enough to know that supporting gay marriage would have severely hindered his chances of getting elected.  He of all people should be keenly aware of the implications of his position.  There was a time in this country when it would have been illegal for his parents to marry because they were of different races.  I hate to think of him as a man who takes the position, hey I got mine now you just try and get yours.

Same sex marriage has no direct personal effect on any of our lives.  The Christian right has always tried to dictate what others may or may not do.  It’s about time they stuck to their beliefs, to which they have a right (however misguided and perverted they may be), and shut the hell up about the rights of those who don’t subscribe to the same belief system.  As far as I’m concerned, anyone who is of legal age and sound mind should be able to marry any person or persons they so choose,  (that’s right, I’m including group or plural marriage).