Julia, I completely understand and agree with your points. I really do. The prayer is something I never remember. I don't pay attention. In fact, I normally automatically disregard most of that stuff as part of the pageant.
I really had to think about this to understand why it was sticking in my craw.
I believe Obama is reaching out and I believe that this action is fairly consistent with his whole message and one of the reasons I embraced that message. Warren is not being assigned a post in Obama's cabinet, he's firing off a prayer for a couple minutes that will likely not contain anything of much substance and little to no specifics on social issues... and it will be forgotten in the hoopla of the follow up.
I think the reason it bothers me so much goes back to my election night post. The vote to strip me of a recently gained right (that for one brief shining moment, made me equal at least in my own State) measurably diminished my elation of the Obama victory. I didn't expect that. At all. That one little ballot result completely killed the celebration that I had been anticipating for nearly a decade. The end of the Bush presidency. The man 'appointed by God' who gave Evangelicals free reign. Supported abstinence only sex ed, fought stem cell research and gave lots of money to faith based organizations (I know, Obama supports that too - but not exclusively).
I suppose I internalized the message of CHANGE that Obama was selling. I thought I was being cautiously optimistic but I now think it went much deeper and I didn't realize it. I knew that none of the candidates supported gay marriage. I could accept that because I know that no one running for President would stand a chance if they openly embraced the gay community and supported equal rights for us.
I just feel like I've been Evangelicaled out. I'm tired of other American's choice of religious beliefs trumping my rights as a tax paying American citizen. As you say, there are Christian congregations that have come to grips with gay rights, but that didn't happen because we were quiet.
Rick Warren being given this brief honorary opportunity is like pouring salt in a freshly opened wound. Not because he will use the platform for anything inappropriate and not because he will have any power beyond the prayer. But because he is one of the many faces that supported the stripping of our right to marry. He represents the kinder gentler homophobe. The 'some of my best friends are" type. Does he hate gay people? No. Does he see them as his equal? That's not what I'm getting from him.
I have a difficult time splitting out the emotionalism from these issues anymore. It used to be easy because we almost always lost.
The inaugaration will go on. Warren will deliver the prayer. All will be fine. Obama's gesture will likely be forgotten quickly during our National economic belly-flop. The gay community's gesture of objection will also be forgotten. It just feels important to object. I know some feel like we are shoving our lives down their throats but, believe it or not, we have in the past been mostly patient and accepting of most of our defeats (I didn't see any protests about gays being widely voted against in all the other States that actually changed their Constitutions). It just feels important to express our opinion right now. Like I said earlier, the Christian congregations did not change their views on gay rights because we kept silent.
Should we choose our battles more carefully? Perhaps, but when you're in the middle of it, sometimes it's difficult to prioritize.
