Warren Shmorren

My friend John Ennis just wrote a piece for the Huffington Post about all the stink being made because of the Rick Warren inaugural appearance. I couldn't agree more. But let me clarify. Rick Warren bugs the crap outta me. I would be happy not to see him there or anywhere else. But I'm not mad at Obama for making the selection.

Could it be that maybe Obama has done the gay community a favor by picking Rick Warren? After all, you can't address the problem of homophobia without actually talking about homophobia, and it seems to me that there are millions more people talking about it now than several weeks ago. The passage of Prop 8 in CA is obviously a significant step backward for gay equality but Obama's selection, by provoking a heated debate, may actually be a catalyst to many more steps forward.

Now, I would never say that the guys who bombed the Birmingham church in the 60's did the civil rights movement a favor, nor would I say that the supporters of Prop 8 did the gay rights movement a favor, but come on... this guy's gonna talk for a few minutes. Turn off your TV if it bothers you so much. In the meantime, go ahead and rail against Warren and all the truly feeble-minded people who are so unable to tolerate diversity. That's more than a right, it's a responsibility. But let's wait and see where Obama takes us before castigating him for this. Sure, the invocation is a high-profile appearance and a symbolic event, but in the end it's purely superficial and substantively meaningless!