Gay Girl / Straight World
Thursday, January 15, 2009
I’m sure you get this a lot, but I was so excited to elect you last November. Ever since your speech at the 2004 Democratic National Convention, I’ve been talking about how I couldn’t wait to cast my vote for you. On November 4, I felt so honored to be part of your historical journey to the White House.
That day, I also voted against Proposition 8, the ballot initiative that stripped millions of Californians of their right to marry simply because they’re gay. And even though the initiative narrowly passed, I’ve been trying to focus on the positives. I was doing rather well until your announcement that Rick Warren would be delivering the invocation at your inauguration on January 20.
Gay Girl / Straight World
I know, I know—you’re trying to end the era of divisive politics in Washington. You’re trying to show that everyone has a place at the table in your administration. I get that, and, frankly, I applaud your apparent dedication to that theme of change. I certainly wish a lot of people who were ignored when trying to be heard during Dubya’s eight years were given the same opportunity. I like that you seem to abide by the Golden Rule of doing unto others as you would have them do unto you.
Interestingly enough, I learned about this scripture and many others as a member of Pastor Warren’s evangelical congregation at Saddleback Church in south Orange County. For a long time I really liked Saddleback—it wasn’t very “churchy,” what with our pastor in Hawaiian shirts and services done in giant tents with lots of contemporary sounding music. But, like many Americans, my world changed after 9/11, and when I came home from college in Santa Barbara one weekend to see a giant American flag on the side of the church, I knew I couldn’t continue to worship there. After all, God is not American, and I certainly don’t think God condones the atrocities George Bush has committed in God’s name.
President-elect Obama, I think we can agree that Warren’s collusion of religion and politics in that tumultuous time was unwise. Similarly, I would argue that his heavy involvement in Proposition 8 was more divisive than anything else. He was one of the first people to argue—erroneously—that if Prop. 8 failed, pastors could be charged with hate speech if they spoke against homosexuality. Most thinking people didn’t fall for that assertion (largely because most thinking people realized that Prop. 8 was about a civil, not religious, issue), but a good number did. Not only did Warren adamantly and vocally support Prop. 8, he told Steven Waldman, editor of beliefnet.com, in an interview that allowing gay marriages is similar to condoning incest, pedophilia, and polygamy.
As a gay woman who is none of the things Warren contends I am, and as someone who had the right to marry on November 3 but not on November 5, I’ve got to say, Barack, I’m a little upset with your invocation choice. Of course you’re not saying Warren is your spiritual adviser (and history has shown that the person giving the invocation doesn’t play a major role in a president’s choices), but couldn’t you have picked someone who is a bit more middle-of-the-road? Warren may be moderate on the evangelical scale, but that’s not saying a whole lot, since many right-wing Christians think global warming isn’t real and dinosaurs never roamed the Earth. I’m willing to bet that if Warren had advocated repealing a right from women or Jews or any other minority, he wouldn’t have been asked to speak at your inauguration. Maybe that helps to explain why your selection of Pastor Warren feels like such a slap in the face, especially to someone whose first piece of Obama flair was a rainbow-stripped button with your silhouette that I purchased at L.A. Pride last year.
You can’t please all the people all the time; perhaps this is just a small setback in an administration that will consistently fight for minorities’ rights. You are, after all, more of a friend than a foe to the gay community. I will continue to hope, as you have inspired us to do, for an America where all citizens are treated equally. Please don’t break our hearts.
Penny Patterson writes an online column about gay life in Santa Barbara called Gay Girl/Straight World. See independent.com/gaygirl for more.