I detest Rick Warren. I think him a bigoted ass who furthers the damage he has done to this country every time his flock grows by another imbecile.
That said, I am delighted with the President-Elect's decision to have him deliver the invocation at January's inauguration.
This may appear to be a contradiction - a blasphemous one in the eyes of some liberals, apparently. But look back to Obama's acceptance speech from November 4: "And to those Americans whose support I have yet to earn - I may not have won your vote, but I hear your voices, I need your help, and I will be your President too."
Obama wasn't just saying that. He wants to show conservative Christian Americans - the people who most gravely doubt his morals, his religion, and his patriotism - that they, too, have a role to play under this administration. And elements of the left are scorning him for it!
Isn't this why we elected the man? To unite the country? To listen to all Americans - not just one or the other side of the political fence? Change under the Obama administration doesn't mean simply exchanging which half of America will be listened to and which half will be ignored. Like it or not, Rick Warren and his congregation are also Americans. And what will make Barack Obama different is that, despite his disagreements with them, he will be their President too.
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To be wise, observe; for observation is the source of wisdom.
"A wonderful, maaaagical animal!"
To be wise, observe; for observation is the source of wisdom.
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Why the learned pig?
In early 19th-century America, a certain traveling show featured a remarkable pig that, on command, could spell out letters to form words. This "pig of knowledge", or "learned pig", baffled superstitious mobs, and excited frenzied accusations of witchcraft. In response, the pig's trainer published a pamphlet that sought to dispel the rumors by detailing his methods of instruction, and demonstrating that this apparent miracle could be accounted for through reason and observation alone.
Tacitus once wrote, "everything unknown passes for something splendid." Humans by nature desire to know, and when they encounter something seemingly inexplicable, they tend to fill in the holes with religion, superstition, or inane anti-intellectualism that dismisses the need for knowledge altogether. But these are cowardly subsitutes for reason and observation. The learned pig reminds us that if we wish to be wise, "observe; for observation is the source of wisdom."
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2 comments:
I respectfully disagree.
Obama's selection of Warren has nothing to do with inclusivity or tolerance. Don't get me wrong -- I'm all for the idea of a president soliciting advice from various quarters, e.g. selecting a "team of rivals" for his Cabinet. (We definitely don't need another eight years of a leader surrounded by loyal "yes men".)
This, however, is a different ball game. Inviting Warren to give a prominent, center-of-attention speech was a calculated political move and (in my humble opinion) cannot be interpreted as anything other than a strong implicit endorsement of Warren's bigoted, irrational positions.
Nobody seriously expected Obama to forego a religious speech entirely, but he could easily have chosen a more liberal clergyman (or woman) who isn't famous for bigotry. It's entirely fair to question Obama's motives for picking a right-wing nutjob.
You make an excellent point. Warren's bigotry is what he's best known for to most Americans, and that makes many of us rational folk cringe. And I am in perfect agreement that this was a calculated political move.
I think the reason I'm so ok with this is that we know Obama will not take Warren's positions seriously enough to let him influence those policies. Obama's disagreements with Warren are no secret - he even explicitly condemned the oppression of homosexuals in his acceptance speech. So I read this not as an endorsement of Warren's bigotry, but as reaching across the aisle despite open disapproval of said bigotry. Also, it's not like this is a Supreme Court appointment. In fact, his speech will probably be rather innocuous, as on that day allusions to their disagreements would be in extremely poor taste. (Not that poor taste is beneath the good Reverend's standards...)
This move is definitely calculated, but I think it is also genuinely inclusive. Warren is a nutjob, but he has a large following of nutjobs, and they didn't expect an invitation to this party. At the very least, letting Warren make an important speech will take the wind out of those nutjobs' sails when they try to complain of persecution and exclusion under Obama - something they are no doubt looking forward to doing.
But thanks for your comment. At the very least we can both be happy that come Jan. 20th, this moron's speech will be dwarfed by the main event.
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