[Marxism] The liberal uproar over Rick Warren

[David Thorstad <binesi@xxxxxxxxx>]

After seeing the interview with Rick Warren last night on NBC's /Dateline, /all 
the fuss over Our Savior's selection of him to give the invocation at
the inauguration seems misplaced. First, why the hell should there be any 
appeal to a deity at a presidential inauguration? Why don't people 
complain about this spread of theocracy and instead pick on the sky pilot?
   Second, it is clear that Obama has a conservative agenda, and that 
he picked Warren as an outreach to evangelicals. That is smart, from his 
point of view. People who are bothered by it should not have voted for him.
   Third, Warren is no Jerry Falwell, if he can be believed, and he 
seemed sincere in voicing his views. Yes, he's against abortion. But so 
are many people who are not antigay. I myself support a woman's right to 
choose, and was perhaps the first gay man to march in a pro-abortion 
march in New York City with a sign I made saying "Gays Support a Woman's 
Right to Choose." But I do not consider abortion a wonderful thing. 
Better to practice birth control and avoid the need for abortion.
   Sure, Warren opposes gay marriage. But that does not make him 
antigay. I and many other same-sexers also oppose gay marriage, and in 
my case I oppose all marriage. It's a lousy institution and the gay 
movement is wrongheaded to be pushing for it, just as it is for trying 
to get into the imperialist military and the pass hate crimes laws. 
Moreover, Warren has given millions of dollars to fight AIDS, and even 
gay groups consider this a good deed. He has engaged in efforts against 
poverty. These things make him a far better and less evil fundamentalist 
than many others. I think the liberal homosexuals who are gaga over His 
Hopefulness are demonstrating intolerance and stupidity.
   Warren's dumbest observation was that for five thousand years, marriage
in all cultures and religions has been defined as being between a man and
a woman. That ignores the many cultures where multiple sex partners is
the norm, or polyamy, or, as in Siwa Oasis, marriage between men and boys.
Marriage between two men or two women may be seen as a caricature of
hetero marriage, especially since the hetero institution is mostly a 
failure, but hetero marriage ceremonies themselves are a caricature 
featuring bizarre rituals and weird clothing. Same-sex marriage may be
beside the point, but it's no less bizarre.
   Obama is going to be just another president in the pocket of Wall 
Street, big business, and the criminals who run our society. So far, his 
picks for advisers and top positions show that he is barely different 
from McCain.
David


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