This debate about Rick Warren at Obama's swearing in ceremony has been interesting to read and I'm in the unusual position of seeing both sides (unusual for me, I mean). On one hand I absolutely see where Loki (
here and
here) is coming from and feel that the choice of Warren so soon after the passage of Prop 8 was a lemony-salt mixture in an open wound to the very people who did the grunt work to get Obama elected. On the other hand I also agree with Stillidealistic (
here) that anger and hatred won't get us far - we need to find some common ground in order to make progress.
What intrigues me is that folks who have supported Obama and voted Obama (and say they know his platform well) are surprised by his choice of Warren. Maybe they are truly surprised that the PR-savvy campaign chose the guy who lead the Prop 8 movement, but if we take Prop 8 out of it, there really shouldn't be any surprise whatsoever. Back at the Saddleback-hosted forum I predicted Warren would speak at the Inaugural (and my husband chided me for jinxing the election...proof positive that there's no such thing as jinxes).
Back in 2006, then-Senator Obama gave the keynote address to the Sojourners Call to Renewal convention. At the time I subscribed to the Senator's podcast, and as much as I've been a junky for his rhetoric since well before the DNC keynote in 2004, this speech in particular left me speechless. I can't put a single adjective to the mixture of emotions it made me feel, but I did appreciate his candor, reasonableness and conviction.
Before I go any further, I should stress that I am not religious. I am sort of spiritual in the superstitious way that Catholic-school alumni can be. I was trained in the catechism but do not trust organized religion and its politics. And, while I have a respect for intelligent people of faith and spiritualism I have NO respect for people who use religion as an excuse to be ignorant, horrible and hateful to others.
Obama's speech in 2006 addressed that dichotomy (spirituality and reason) and described the personal fulfillment of faith, that spirituality can move people in beautiful ways and to do good works. But, he calls out to both atheistic/agnostic progressives and religious conservatives to recognize the truth and good in what the other side is arguing and has to offer.
He praises both sides for their efforts and good intentions, but calls them both out for extremism and unwillingness to try to see the other side's point of view.
For example, He cites Rick Warren by name as a religious leader who is involved in aid projects for causes that are underfunded by the government, but also calls out that group of leaders for not recognizing that social policy cannot be premised by religious teachings because we are a pluralistic society and our laws must be universalized for the common good.
Ultimately Obama argues:
So the question is, how do we build on these still-tentative partnerships between religious and secular people of good will? It's going to take more work, a lot more work than we've done so far. The tensions and the suspicions on each side of the religious divide will have to be squarely addressed. And each side will need to accept some ground rules for collaboration.
I think what a lot of us forget is that when we fell for Obama's dreamy spell of Hope, he is that he was offering attempts to bring both sides together and foster a "purple" country, not a promise to only promote OUR side of every issue. After the "so what?" attitudes of our current President and Vice President to anyone who isn't in the "conservative base" it's hard not to want someone who will give the conservatives the "nanny-nanny-boo-boo" and uber-liberal policies they so richly deserve. But, that's not how Obama defined himself and is not what he promised.
In a world of black-and-white stances on the issues, Obama is trying to take a measured, reasonable, gray approach...and in the end I think it's refreshing to have a politician with maturity who is trying to make this country a better place.
Anyway, the speech text is available here - I recommend that everyone read it, because it's a pretty clear and eloquent take on Obama's perspective.
