Ok, now I know that there’s been much anger, confusion, disappointment, and hurt caused by Obama’s choosing of controversial Pastor Rick Warren as the man to give the inaugural invocation as Obama takes office.  I know that myself being of a religion that is far from the majority here in the states just about always find myself put off by the borderline prerequisite of Christianity as the faith of choice to become President to begin with, so regardless of who was chosen to give the invocation I wouldn’t really have cared that much.  But by picking someone so openly divisive in his stances my attention has been drawn, as has that of others all over the country and beyond.

Now I don’t agree with Rick Warren’s historical stances on homosexuality, finding it bigotted and closed-minded.  But then as I was preparing to take issue with his being tagged to give the prayer of the day, I thought about how I was being closed-minded.  Obama promised something over and over as he moved from hopeful Candidate, to President-Elect… he promised to bring people together, to break down the barriers between right and left, red and blue, neo-con and liberal.  What better way to start than to open a dialogue between a newly liberal left run government and a conservative righty than this.  It would be easier to pick a religious figure who fits into the “liberal agenda” and offends no one in Obama’s circle of supporters, but he didn’t.  Is it meant as a slap in the face to those who voted for him, or is it meant to open a dialogue between factions and sides on issues with the hopes of swaying everyone to an acceptance if not agreeance for the future?  I’d like to think that perhaps it is the latter.

But I- a heterosexual white male have little at stake here, so don’t worry about what I say.  Here’s someone who has a little more on the line depending on how people feel about the issues of homosexuality and same-sex marriage:

Singer-songwriter Melissa Etheridge, who talked with Warren Saturday night when both spoke at a convention of Muslims, wrote an open letter in the Huffington Post, explaining why she, as a lesbian, was giving Warren a chance — she even acknowledged that, “he invited me to his church, I invited him to my home to meet my wife and kids.” An excerpt from Etheridge:

“Brothers and sisters the choice is ours now. We have the world’s attention. We have the capability to create change, awesome change in this world, but before we change minds we must change hearts. Sure, there are plenty of hateful people who will always hold on to their bigotry like a child to a blanket. But there are also good people out there, Christian and otherwise that are beginning to listen. They don’t hate us, they fear change. Maybe in our anger, as we consider marches and boycotts, perhaps we can consider stretching out our hands. Maybe instead of marching on his church, we can show up en mass and volunteer for one of the many organizations affiliated with his church that work for HIV/AIDS causes all around the world. Maybe if they get to know us, they won’t fear us. I know, call me a dreamer, but I feel a new era is upon us.”

A new era… cross your fingers that she’s right.

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