Is Rush Limbaugh simply the crazy "leader" of a Republican party wishing failure on their own country in the middle of the greatest economic crisis (created by themselves) in my lifetime? I don't think so. I think he is a mere reflection of a faction of Americans who are hysterical about having Obama for president.
During the presidential election people in the Republican party used the "Southern Strategy" to get people riled up about Obama! "Who is Barak Obama?" sinister sounding voices asked! "Sounds like socialism to me!" said Jo the plumber about Obama's plan to rescind Bush tax cuts on the wealthy! "Pals around with terrorists!" intoned Sarah Palin. This played right into the racism and paranoia of a great many people on the right.
When these leaders became aware of the incendiary effect they were creating, they played a one-step forward, one-step backward game of "he is a decent family man" but he is "wrong where it matters!" It was too little, too late...
But the country, mercifully, saw through this. They voted for Obama, and he has been delightful in systematically and carefully bringing about what he promised.
What has happened to this incensed, paranoid, racist, leftover faction? Don't get me wrong, I am not talking about reasonable, principled Republicans who disagree on policy issues and ways of working. Thank God for opposition politics. No, I am talking about the fringe of unreasonable people who were fired up during the presidential election and just horrified when their leaders seemed to respond positively to Obama's election and bipartisan overtures.
This is the fringe that Rush speaks for and who get into action whenever someone disagrees with him, turning reasonable Republicans into snivelling, cowering cap in hand apologizers for having any kind of reasonable opinion.
This battle for the soul of the Republican party is very helpful for Obama. It is very good for Democrats that Rush is their leader! Until decent Republicans can start showing leadership instead of kowtowing to this particular fringe-part of their base, it is good news for those of us who want Obama to succeed. And I for one am not complaining...
See this youtube video for further info
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
Sunday, January 18, 2009
Obama, Rick Warren, and the mincing machine...
I have been staying out of the discussion about Obama's choice of Rick Warren to offer an invocation at his inauguration. Albeit initially disappointed, I had been fully aware for a couple of years that Obama was not going to be fighting for gay marriage. He had said this from the start. On the other hand, I was delighted at how clear he was that he would work hard for civil rights for the LGBT community. (I agreed with this approach as a fair reading of what is possible in America right now.)
Obama has also always been clear that he would reach out to those he disagreed with, that he wanted to be the president of all Americans. As a former evangelical, I understood why he might invite Rick Warren. What defines the American religious right is its stand against homosexual practise and against abortion. If he wanted to reach out to the right-wing, he would have to invite someone who agreed with those positions. Of the options out there, Rick Warren is likely the least toxic!
So I did not find myself as stirred up about the invitation as some of my respected friends were. He was, after all, not the only person invited. As I understand it, there will be prayers and sermons by a variety of people during the course of the inauguration celebrations; prayers by Muslims, Jews, a sermon by a woman, and so on.
I was not upset, but I was not entirely happy either, and today when I heard an excellent sermon on why we should not be nasty about this I found myself feeling even more ambivalent. I was not comfortable with a forced choice between being angry about the invitation to Rick Warren, or feeling it was fine and dandy. This choice felt unfair.
I found myself caught between two streams in the Christian tradition, the prophetic tradition and the pastoral tradition. The prophetic tradition tells it as it is, sometimes offending people and sometimes going a little "over the top". Examples of this are when "God" says to the people, "Your worship makes me sick" in Amos or when Jesus calls the Pharisees "Snakes" or "Whitewashed tombs full of dead people's bones." The pastoral tradition is more caring, more careful of people's feelings, more respectful. It tries to create harmony between people. As I listened to this excellent sermon this morning I felt that sometimes the need to keep things "loving" and "kind" can be oppressive in a peculiar kind of way, inadvertently shutting people up who have things they need to say.
I believe the LGBT community has something important to say, and this anger needs to be heard. I think Obama heard it, and as a result invited Eugene Robinson to participate in the inauguration festivities as well. I wish he had thought about it sooner, but, better late than never.
GLBT people find ourselves in a strange position. It is like we are asked to be crucified whenever a debate such as the Prop 8 one takes place. Because for us, this is not 'an issue' for debate. It is not something we can be detached about. We are people, and our sexuality is an integral part of us, part even of our spirituality, our humanity, our being. It is hard to explain what it is like to have our very being ‘up for discussion.’
I remember once going to a church for a discussion called “Is there a place for men in the church?” It was a subversive question. It made people sit up and notice, because of course there is; there is no question! It is obviously the wrong question. But it upends things quite nicely. It shows how ludicrous it is that the question should be asked about anyone. Is there a place for men, for women, for people of colour, for gay people in the church? Of course! Jesus said, “Whosoever will, may come!”
In a similar way, it might be instructive for people who are not gay to think about what it might feel like to have your 'being' discussed and voted on. If you are straight, consider these questions: “Should straight people be allowed to marry? Should straight people be allowed to be members of, or clergy in, the church?” What if your home, your relationship, your marriage, your right to walk down the road holding hands with your beloved was under consideration? How easy would it be for you to be dispassionate, kind, calm, and magnanimous about those bringing these things into question?
I want to be magnanimous! I want to be mature. I want to make room in the tent for the Rick Warrens' or even the Fred Phelps’ of this world! I want to pray for my enemies. I want to forgive. I want to live “in the opposite spirit,” as some evangelicals like to say.
What would be helpful as I try to do this is for people to understand the personal cost to me in so doing. This is not easy. When I went into a discussion some years ago about same-sex marriage in my congregation at the time, I was gut-wrenchingly terrified. As minister, I was supposed to be cool, calm and collected. Instead I felt like I was being stretched out on the meat block while people’s words “tenderized” my battered heart with their word-mallets. They were not trying to be hurtful when they talked about maintaining family values in the church etc, but it was like an assault on my inner being. I still grin broadly when I remember the power of a newly married lesbian couple walking to the mike, hand in hand, where one said, “I want to introduce you to my family.” The entire discussion changed ground - no longer 'an issue' it became a matter of how to relate in love to those among us…
GLBT people are in the unique position of being the mince in the mincer of the global debate about how to understand the bible. Slaves had this experience during the debate about slavery. For others this is 'an issue' - for us it is 'our very lives.' And it takes all of our spiritual resources and discipline to be rational and respectful to those who want to take away what is precious to us – our God, our faith, our relationships, and our ability to marry and raise children.
So I do wish Obama would have realized, (particularly after his election, so anticipated by some of us, was marred by the passing of Prop 8 in California,) that an invitation to Rick would need to be gently and carefully explained to a battered LGBT community, and perhaps balanced immediately by an invitation such as that extended to the first openly gay bishop. We are not just an interest group. We are people waiting for our society to respect our lives. I hope he learned something from this experience.
And I wish that those calling for civility in the debate would understand and respect the cost in such civility for those of us in the GLBT community who struggle every day to follow the way of love in all our relationships. On those days when we get a little emotional, or angry, a little understanding might be in order. It is not easy to be the punching bag in this never ending hermeneutical struggle.
I am completely thrilled and delighted that Obama is being inaugurated this week! I am hopeful that his inclusive way will bring a new level of civility and respect to public discourse. I support him 100% and want him to succeed, not just for himself, but for America and the world. I will pray for him like I have never before prayed for an American president, because he will be under so much pressure from so many people to fulfil their needs at such a critical time in history. I expect to be disappointed by him from time to time, and to challenge him now and then. Yet I believe his motives are honourable… His desire for a new day of justice for all shines through him, not because he is perfect, but because he is a person of faith, character, and values, and because he has a loving partner who keeps him grounded! Let’s pray for her too!
Obama has also always been clear that he would reach out to those he disagreed with, that he wanted to be the president of all Americans. As a former evangelical, I understood why he might invite Rick Warren. What defines the American religious right is its stand against homosexual practise and against abortion. If he wanted to reach out to the right-wing, he would have to invite someone who agreed with those positions. Of the options out there, Rick Warren is likely the least toxic!
So I did not find myself as stirred up about the invitation as some of my respected friends were. He was, after all, not the only person invited. As I understand it, there will be prayers and sermons by a variety of people during the course of the inauguration celebrations; prayers by Muslims, Jews, a sermon by a woman, and so on.
I was not upset, but I was not entirely happy either, and today when I heard an excellent sermon on why we should not be nasty about this I found myself feeling even more ambivalent. I was not comfortable with a forced choice between being angry about the invitation to Rick Warren, or feeling it was fine and dandy. This choice felt unfair.
I found myself caught between two streams in the Christian tradition, the prophetic tradition and the pastoral tradition. The prophetic tradition tells it as it is, sometimes offending people and sometimes going a little "over the top". Examples of this are when "God" says to the people, "Your worship makes me sick" in Amos or when Jesus calls the Pharisees "Snakes" or "Whitewashed tombs full of dead people's bones." The pastoral tradition is more caring, more careful of people's feelings, more respectful. It tries to create harmony between people. As I listened to this excellent sermon this morning I felt that sometimes the need to keep things "loving" and "kind" can be oppressive in a peculiar kind of way, inadvertently shutting people up who have things they need to say.
I believe the LGBT community has something important to say, and this anger needs to be heard. I think Obama heard it, and as a result invited Eugene Robinson to participate in the inauguration festivities as well. I wish he had thought about it sooner, but, better late than never.
GLBT people find ourselves in a strange position. It is like we are asked to be crucified whenever a debate such as the Prop 8 one takes place. Because for us, this is not 'an issue' for debate. It is not something we can be detached about. We are people, and our sexuality is an integral part of us, part even of our spirituality, our humanity, our being. It is hard to explain what it is like to have our very being ‘up for discussion.’
I remember once going to a church for a discussion called “Is there a place for men in the church?” It was a subversive question. It made people sit up and notice, because of course there is; there is no question! It is obviously the wrong question. But it upends things quite nicely. It shows how ludicrous it is that the question should be asked about anyone. Is there a place for men, for women, for people of colour, for gay people in the church? Of course! Jesus said, “Whosoever will, may come!”
In a similar way, it might be instructive for people who are not gay to think about what it might feel like to have your 'being' discussed and voted on. If you are straight, consider these questions: “Should straight people be allowed to marry? Should straight people be allowed to be members of, or clergy in, the church?” What if your home, your relationship, your marriage, your right to walk down the road holding hands with your beloved was under consideration? How easy would it be for you to be dispassionate, kind, calm, and magnanimous about those bringing these things into question?
I want to be magnanimous! I want to be mature. I want to make room in the tent for the Rick Warrens' or even the Fred Phelps’ of this world! I want to pray for my enemies. I want to forgive. I want to live “in the opposite spirit,” as some evangelicals like to say.
What would be helpful as I try to do this is for people to understand the personal cost to me in so doing. This is not easy. When I went into a discussion some years ago about same-sex marriage in my congregation at the time, I was gut-wrenchingly terrified. As minister, I was supposed to be cool, calm and collected. Instead I felt like I was being stretched out on the meat block while people’s words “tenderized” my battered heart with their word-mallets. They were not trying to be hurtful when they talked about maintaining family values in the church etc, but it was like an assault on my inner being. I still grin broadly when I remember the power of a newly married lesbian couple walking to the mike, hand in hand, where one said, “I want to introduce you to my family.” The entire discussion changed ground - no longer 'an issue' it became a matter of how to relate in love to those among us…
GLBT people are in the unique position of being the mince in the mincer of the global debate about how to understand the bible. Slaves had this experience during the debate about slavery. For others this is 'an issue' - for us it is 'our very lives.' And it takes all of our spiritual resources and discipline to be rational and respectful to those who want to take away what is precious to us – our God, our faith, our relationships, and our ability to marry and raise children.
So I do wish Obama would have realized, (particularly after his election, so anticipated by some of us, was marred by the passing of Prop 8 in California,) that an invitation to Rick would need to be gently and carefully explained to a battered LGBT community, and perhaps balanced immediately by an invitation such as that extended to the first openly gay bishop. We are not just an interest group. We are people waiting for our society to respect our lives. I hope he learned something from this experience.
And I wish that those calling for civility in the debate would understand and respect the cost in such civility for those of us in the GLBT community who struggle every day to follow the way of love in all our relationships. On those days when we get a little emotional, or angry, a little understanding might be in order. It is not easy to be the punching bag in this never ending hermeneutical struggle.
I am completely thrilled and delighted that Obama is being inaugurated this week! I am hopeful that his inclusive way will bring a new level of civility and respect to public discourse. I support him 100% and want him to succeed, not just for himself, but for America and the world. I will pray for him like I have never before prayed for an American president, because he will be under so much pressure from so many people to fulfil their needs at such a critical time in history. I expect to be disappointed by him from time to time, and to challenge him now and then. Yet I believe his motives are honourable… His desire for a new day of justice for all shines through him, not because he is perfect, but because he is a person of faith, character, and values, and because he has a loving partner who keeps him grounded! Let’s pray for her too!
Sunday, November 9, 2008
This week!
It has been momentous to be in San Diego of two historic and far reaching votes.
First of all, the most wonderful, exciting, and thrilling election in America that I can remember (the campaign was like a roller coaster) and I was nervous right until Pennsylvania and Ohio went blue. Now, I feel as though America has come to its senses and elected the best person, and I am going to commit myself to pray for and send good energy in the direction of Barak every day. He is going to need it.
At the same time, and on the same night, there was a kick-to-the-stomach feeling when we heard that Proposition 8 was likely going to pass. Knowing that the churches had been behind this campaign made it even harder. I found myself unable to fully appreciate the joy of the election given the larger than life "Stay Out" sign so many Californians had hung on the doorway of marriage - which I see as a sacrament - a visible sign of an invisible grace. I could not believe how sad I felt, even though Canada has not changed its laws.
I could not believe that a state would allow a majority to determine the rights of a minority. That has never worked in history. I also could not believe that the church would do this once again to a community it has already hurt so much.
Then this morning I went to church at MissionGathering, a Disciples of Christ church that meets in Hillcrest. The pastor got up and acknowledged that this has been a bittersweet week. He said we were going to be together in this time of pain and struggle. Then he said, "Bring in the light of Christ." As the lights dimmed and the small candle-light came forward, the tears started to run down my face, as they did for the next 15 minutes or so as we sang our hope and pain.
The sermon was moving, particularly when he explained how hard it had been to find words to say, but how as he was driving to church, he saw a bumper sticker that spoke to him. It said, "Speak your truth, even if your voice shakes."
The most powerful moment for me was when the pastor, a gay man, got up to do communion. He started to pray for those on the other side of the debate, for God’s love and grace to be theirs. He prayed for his father and others, who had celebrated while we wept, Then he took the bread, and broke it, and said ”The body of Christ broken for you!”
The light of Christ is still not dimmed by the broken body! But the battered GLBT community needs to hear it said loudly and clearly that there are followers of Jesus who believe in a Christ and God who love us as we are. So be it.
First of all, the most wonderful, exciting, and thrilling election in America that I can remember (the campaign was like a roller coaster) and I was nervous right until Pennsylvania and Ohio went blue. Now, I feel as though America has come to its senses and elected the best person, and I am going to commit myself to pray for and send good energy in the direction of Barak every day. He is going to need it.
At the same time, and on the same night, there was a kick-to-the-stomach feeling when we heard that Proposition 8 was likely going to pass. Knowing that the churches had been behind this campaign made it even harder. I found myself unable to fully appreciate the joy of the election given the larger than life "Stay Out" sign so many Californians had hung on the doorway of marriage - which I see as a sacrament - a visible sign of an invisible grace. I could not believe how sad I felt, even though Canada has not changed its laws.
I could not believe that a state would allow a majority to determine the rights of a minority. That has never worked in history. I also could not believe that the church would do this once again to a community it has already hurt so much.
Then this morning I went to church at MissionGathering, a Disciples of Christ church that meets in Hillcrest. The pastor got up and acknowledged that this has been a bittersweet week. He said we were going to be together in this time of pain and struggle. Then he said, "Bring in the light of Christ." As the lights dimmed and the small candle-light came forward, the tears started to run down my face, as they did for the next 15 minutes or so as we sang our hope and pain.
The sermon was moving, particularly when he explained how hard it had been to find words to say, but how as he was driving to church, he saw a bumper sticker that spoke to him. It said, "Speak your truth, even if your voice shakes."
The most powerful moment for me was when the pastor, a gay man, got up to do communion. He started to pray for those on the other side of the debate, for God’s love and grace to be theirs. He prayed for his father and others, who had celebrated while we wept, Then he took the bread, and broke it, and said ”The body of Christ broken for you!”
The light of Christ is still not dimmed by the broken body! But the battered GLBT community needs to hear it said loudly and clearly that there are followers of Jesus who believe in a Christ and God who love us as we are. So be it.
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