Friday, December 19, 2008

The Rush to Judgement

I remain convinced that Barack Obama is the most intelligent man to be elected to the Presidency in my lifetime. His campaign was not only effective, but brilliant. Not since Lincoln have we seen a President comfortable enough with his own ability to govern to surround himself not with those to whom he owes a favor, but with individuals that are *gasp* among the most capable in the nation. It's a new era--an awakening--and it's long overdue.

Clinton is smart--actually both of them are smart. But Bill doesn't always think with the right body part. Hillary is widely recognized as one of the most partisan politicos around. President-Elect Obama is too smart to make either of those mistakes. Obama is a new political animal--one with the goal to bring people together from all walks of life to solve the problems we face together as a nation.

So to all my gay brothers and sisters that have exploded over the invitation Obama issued to Rev. Warren to offer the invocation at his inauguration, I say relax and give the man a break. Believe it or not, what other people do isn't always about you. And in this case, making nice with the new Billy Graham and one of the nation's most popular and well-respected ministers is quite likely to help more than hurt in the long run.

Frankly, I find the reaction from the gay community to be disappointing. The gaystapo marches again. It's us engaging in the same ugly tactics and behavior that we've seen from 'the other side' all these years. We have become them, and it's ugly.

Give our new president a chance. Don't rush to judge in light of one little incident. Yeah I've read all the posts about what an affront the Warren invite is to the gay community. If you're that mad, take it to FoxNews or talk radio. Join the rest who will jump on every single perceived slight and are doing whatever they can to bring the man down before he even takes office. But me, I'm going to support the man that I believe is the best hope we've had for equal rights in the history of the United States.

Change I can believe in. What about you?

1 comment:

rptrcub said...

I'm disappointed with this. Yeah, I'm glad Obama will be the president and I'm grateful that we have some sort of hope for actual change, but I am still displeased. This goes beyond just inviting someone to the table with whom you have a respectful disagreement; this is inviting the uncle who taunted you as a child to say grace at the thanksgiving dinner of a beloved sister and her awesome, totally cool new husband, who invited the said uncle to allegedly keep peace in the family.

I also resent (I know that you're not saying this, but people are in other quarters) being told to "keep my powder dry" and that I'm part of the problem with Democrats in re: the circular firing squad cliche.

I reserve the right to criticize the new president as much as I criticize the old one. When something's wrong, it's wrong. Perhaps it's just my foolish 27-year-old mind talking.

 
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