A Purpose-Driven Outrage

I’m pretty open-minded, but I don’t support same-sex marriage. That said, I understand gays’ outrage that Pastor Rick Warren will give the invocation at President-elect Barack Obama’s inauguration.

Rep. Barney Frank, the first openly gay member of Congress, said on CNN’s “Late Edition”:

Mr. Warren compared same-sex couples to incest. I found that deeply offensive and unfair. And the president-elect was wrong when he said, well, he invited me to speak; I’m just inviting him to speak.

If he was inviting the Reverend Warren to participate in a forum and to make a speech, that would be a good thing. We should have these. But being singled out to give the prayer at the inauguration is a high honor.

It has traditionally given as a mark of great respect. And, yes, I think it was wrong to single him out for this mark of respect.

Can you imagine if, say, Dr. Bob Jones III were invited in the name of including “a wide range of viewpoints”? Black folks would not “agree to disagree.” Bob Jones University banned interracial dating until 2000. The ban was ended in the wake of a public outcry.

Mind you, I’m not analogizing gay rights to civil rights. Rather, no bigot should be given a platform on such an historic occasion, no matter how many good deeds he has done.

BTW, women also want to drive Pastor Rick from the Inaugural stage:

The Obama camp claims the move represents the President-elect’s commitment to inclusiveness. But, in fact, this is a gesture to reach out to conservatives who opposed President-elect Obama at the expense of women, LGBT Americans, and other progressive voters who overwhelmingly supported him.

It is disrespectful. It is antagonistic. It is a decision that is blatantly at odds with the progressive agenda on which he based his campaign. It is divisive, not inclusive.

This historic election is supposed to be about a vision of a new America – an end to politics of division. And yet President-elect Obama has made a choice to give prominence and pulpit to a promoter of an anti-choice and anti-gay agenda. He has chosen to highlight and give voice to someone who has actively supported the elimination of civil rights. He has chosen a divisive figure to speak out in a moment of prayer, on an historical day of bringing Americans together.

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