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.

I’ve always held the opinion that “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” is the most idiotic military policy in history. Not only does it infringe on civil rights, it also weakens a military that relies on volunteer soldiers. I think the most famous example are the Army Arabic translators who were discharged for homosexuality during the most crucial need for their skills.

We’ve been hearing a lot of “change” rhetoric from President-elect Obama this last year. I’m sure everyone’s whispering their suggestions to Obama these days.

How much pull do you think over 100 retired generals and admirals will have regarding our military’s disgraceful “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy:

“As is the case with Great Britain, Israel, and other nations that allow gays and lesbians to serve openly, our service members are professionals who are able to work together effectively despite differences in race, gender, religion, and sexuality,” the officers wrote.

As for Obama’s opinion, don’t expect the policy to change any time soon even though he spoke out against ‘Dont ask, Don’t Tell’ during his candidacy. It’s quickly becoming a very low priority for his cabinet:

While Obama has expressed support for repeal, he said during the presidential campaign that he would not do so on his own – an indication that he would tread carefully to prevent the issue from becoming a drag on his agenda. Obama said he would instead work with military leaders to build consensus on removing the ban on openly gay service members.

“Although I have consistently said I would repeal ‘don’t ask, don’t tell,’ I believe that the way to do it is make sure that we are working through a process, getting the Joint Chiefs of Staff clear in terms of what our priorities are going to be,” Obama said in a September interview with the Philadelphia Gay News.

Because the process has worked SOOOO well in the past.