Saturday, December 20, 2008

So what did you expect?

Okay. To start out with, I want to say that I'm a bit distracted lately from paying attention to the complicated events of the amazing, frightening, and hopeful times that we are all living through. I am a very lucky woman. I am going to buy a cheap little house. The picture is on the left. Posting may be a bit erratic for the indefinite future while the complicated details of buying and starting to fix take place.

That being said, one of the news items that has floated to my attention is the fact that right-wing pastor and media darling Rick Warren has been invited to give the invocation at Barack Obama's inauguration on January 20. Warren is unusual in his focus on issues such as poverty, global warming, and AIDS. But he's entirely traditional in his support for male domination and his opposition to gay rights and abortion rights. Feminists and gay rights activists are understandably upset that Obama has chosen Warren to open the inauguration by praying to Warren's right-wing version of God.

On the one hand, I find myself feeling almost indifferent to this controversy. Obama, the consumate centrist political wheeler-dealer, is pretty much behaving as I would expect him to behave. Obama is brilliant, competent, and entirely focused on holding the existing order of things together, although in a more humane fashion than the Republicans did. He wants to win over the religious right, and figures he can take the rest of us for granted. Did anyone really expect anything better? With the economy at home and abroad still going down the toilet, maybe there are other places to direct our energy?

On the other hand, janinsanfran at happening here? and Echnide at Echidne of the Snakes each has a brilliant analysis of this issue.

Echidne points out that Obama should not minimize the importance of "social issues" such as gay rights and abortion in his efforts to create national unity:
Here's where I see the task of the future for us dirty fucking hippies and feminazis and such: To teach politicians that 'social issues' is not about what we eat for Thanksgiving or how we arrange flowers. Those issues are about freedom, justice, economics, dignity and respect.

janinsanfran points out that Obama's former pastor, Jeremiah Wright, understood the situation very well:
He claimed to have said to Obama:

'If you get elected, November the 5th, I'm coming after you, because you'll be representing a government whose policies grind under people.'

Sounds about right to me. Obama will be as a good a president as aroused people make him be -- not one whit better.

If you'd like to express an opinion to the Obama transition team about his invitation to Rick Warren -- or about other matters -- you can do that here.

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