There has been much lamenting and wringing of hands today among liberal religious folks over President-elect Obama's choice to include the Rev. Rick Warren in his inaugural ceremony. All of the choices that Mr. Obama has made so far have led all parties to weigh in on the question "Is this change? Or more of the same?"

Many of my much-esteemed colleagues were bothered today by Mr. Obama's choice of the Rev. Rick Warren to offer the opening prayer at the inaugural ceremony on Tuesday, 20 January 2009. They would have rather had any number of other people, including a favorite: the Rev. Jeremiah Wright.

But my question to that and many other choices of the liberal/progressive voices in this debate is: How would those choices offer change we can believe in?

Then Senator Obama ran on a platform of reaching out to people of all persuasions to have meaningful conversations that would lead us beyond the deeply held divide of right vs. left. If he had chosen someone such as the Rev. Jeremiah Wright, how would that have led to a meaningful conversation? No one on the right would have felt included in that choice. They would have felt shut out of the conversation all together.

The choice of the Rev. Rick Warren, while offensive because of his recent opposition to equal marriage rights for all, is a moderate choice because of the pastor's position on a myriad of other issues that are important to conservatives and progressives alike. By choosing the Rev. Warren, Mr. Obama has opened a door to including multiple voices at the table and taking a step beyond the typical divides that have held up meaningful change at the national level for so long.

So while I would have preferred a different choice myself, I support and applaud the President-elect for a tough choice towards making change that we all (both left and right) can believe in. To truly be the President for all Americans, Mr. Obama will have to continue to make hard decisions that please neither the left nor the right completely.

Change does not come easy nor quickly. But I pray that President Obama will continue to reach out to people on all sides and act with wisdom and compassion to bring us together as one nation. Not an easy task by any means.

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There has been much lamenting and wringing of hands today among liberal religious folks over President-elect Obama's choice to include the Rev. Rick Warren in his inaugural ceremony. All of the choices that Mr. Obama has made so far have led all parties to weigh in on the question "Is this change? Or more of the same?"

Many of my much-esteemed colleagues were bothered today by Mr. Obama's choice of the Rev. Rick Warren to offer the opening prayer at the inaugural ceremony on Tuesday, 20 January 2009. They would have rather had any number of other people, including a favorite: the Rev. Jeremiah Wright.

But my question to that and many other choices of the liberal/progressive voices in this debate is: How would those choices offer change we can believe in?

Then Senator Obama ran on a platform of reaching out to people of all persuasions to have meaningful conversations that would lead us beyond the deeply held divide of right vs. left. If he had chosen someone such as the Rev. Jeremiah Wright, how would that have led to a meaningful conversation? No one on the right would have felt included in that choice. They would have felt shut out of the conversation all together.

The choice of the Rev. Rick Warren, while offensive because of his recent opposition to equal marriage rights for all, is a moderate choice because of the pastor's position on a myriad of other issues that are important to conservatives and progressives alike. By choosing the Rev. Warren, Mr. Obama has opened a door to including multiple voices at the table and taking a step beyond the typical divides that have held up meaningful change at the national level for so long.

So while I would have preferred a different choice myself, I support and applaud the President-elect for a tough choice towards making change that we all (both left and right) can believe in. To truly be the President for all Americans, Mr. Obama will have to continue to make hard decisions that please neither the left nor the right completely.

Change does not come easy nor quickly. But I pray that President Obama will continue to reach out to people on all sides and act with wisdom and compassion to bring us together as one nation. Not an easy task by any means.

---

3 Comments  |  post a comment

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