Rick Warren, Obama, and a note from Scott Wells

Scott Wells, Universalist minister, colleague and friend, writes about his upset around the Rick Warren invitation. I share it here because it is well worth a read. You can find more of his writing at http://boyinthebands.com/. If he lived closer, I would ask him to come and preach in Davenport, but alas. It is not to be.


My short response to the Obama-Warren messSaturday, 20 December 2008

The longer I ponder a response to Barack Obama’s invitation of Rick Warren to give the invocation at the Inauguration, the less likely I’ll be to finish it. So here’s the nub.

An aside to Mr. Obama:
We know you’re not a liberal, but a lot of liberals, labor people, environmentalists, feminists and others supported you because you had the organizational chops and charisma to beat the Republican. Oh, and let’s not forget The Gays, who are pretty hopping mad at you right now and have been since the election. Together, we will be a part of your Big Tent: either as invited guests or a burr in your saddle. Turn on us and we’ll turn on you. And so will the Obama Kids: there’s nothing they hate more than a hypocrite. Inviting that bigot Rick Warren is a slap in the face. Just because he’s got his head screwed on straight for a few issues of human decency doesn’t give him carte blanche to go after gay people like me, sick people who need stem cell research, anyone who wants to decide about their own reproduction or even the president of Iran.

An aside to the liberals, labor people, environmentalists, feminists and others, including The Gays:

Barack Obama isn’t a liberal; rather, the world dodged a bullet by not having a McCain-Palin administration. He will only live up to his change rhetoric if he’s held to it. Inclusion isn’t dependent on the next president’s character — the old Unitarian canard — but the power people bring or withhold from him. The last eight years of presidential unresponsiveness shouldn’t keep us from being organized, visible and loud. We need to be everywhere. More about the tactics later. For now, one word: solidarity. I do not expect non-gay liberals to pat me on the head and say I’m sorry you’re so upset. I expect them to be angry and vocal. And I’ll be there for the gag rule, card check, transit funding, and other issues that need to be reversed or improved. The Right expects us to stay apart.

A last point:
To remind y’all, my thrift shtick isn’t because I’m some tightwad. I plan to have money in the bank when the call comes: for political contributions, for issue campaigns, for legal defense funds.

Stay vigilant.

No honeymoon.