*Certain exceptions may apply, traditional definitions of man and woman as the only legitimate relationship eligible for consideration are implicit. See blog for details on the inauguration festivities, but note that we have left out anything related to the selection or participation of bigots like Rick Warren to break the bottle of champagne over the hull of the Hope and Change vessel.
“The Presidential Inaugural Committee, at the direction of President-elect Obama and Vice President-elect Biden, will organize an inclusive and accessible inauguration that reflects the new Administration’s commitment to leadership that sets aside partisanship and unites the nation around our shared values and ideals.”
One would assume, from the mission statement, that there is some care being taken to avoid offending a substantial portion of the population during the planning process for the festivities. I’m celebrating my National Day of Service early by posting some statistics on just how united we are on the question of whether or not there should be a ban on gay marriage. Whether or not Obama says he is against such a ban, allowing Mr. Warren any kind of podium tied to the swearing in ceremonies is legitimizing his opinions. But first, some exciting and very divisive charts (courtesy of the folks at religioustolerence.org).
Trends in public support for gay and lesbian domestic partners on additional topics (2000 to 2008):
| Topic | Year 2000 support | 2004 support | 2008 support |
| Support for inheritance rights | 62% | 60% | 74% |
| Support for Social Security benefits | 54 | 55 | 67 |
| Health insurance & other employee benefits | 58 | 60 | 73 |
| Hospital visitation rights for partners | - | - | 86 |
Trends in public support for individual gays and lesbians:
| Topic | Year 2000 support | 2004 support | 2008 support |
| Support to serve openly in the military | 57% | 60% | 66% |
| Support for equal rights in job opportunities | 83 | 87 | 87 |
| Support for equal rights in housing | 78 | - | 82 |
| Support for hiring as elementary school teachers | 60 | - | 62 |
| Support for hiring as high school teachers | 63 | - | 69 |
Trends in the way that the public prefers that same-sex relationships be recognized … or not:
| Topic | Year 2004 support | 2006 support | 2008 support |
| Support full marriage rights | 28% | 24% | 31% |
| Support civil unions or domestic partnerships | 23 | 27 | 32 |
| Oppose any recognition; treat them as simple roommates | 43 | 37 | 30 |
Given the fact that 90% of Americans opposed interracial marriage in 1948, and today those people are called bigots, I think these facts are worth looking over. Family is complicated, romance moreso. There is demonstrably a growing recognition in the American public that we really need to mind our own business and get on with the day-to-day activities of making the world a better place without worrying about how and who other people choose to love.
Since I’ve got a penchant for posting poetry from time to time, I’d like to take a pause here to share the poem Maya Angelou wrote for Bill Clinton’s second inauguration. I was there to hear her read it. It brought me to tears then, and it brings me to tears now, and I think it’s worth re-reading so we can contrast these two fundamentally different Americas that we live in today.
On the Pulse of Morning by Maya Angelou
A Rock, A River, A Tree
Hosts to species long since departed,
Marked the mastodon.The dinosaur, who left dry tokens
Of their sojourn here
On our planet floor,
Any broad alarm of their hastening doom
Is lost in the gloom of dust and ages.
But today, the Rock cries out to us, clearly, forcefully,
Come, you may stand upon my
Back and face your distant destiny,
But seek no haven in my shadow.
I will give you no more hiding place down here.
You, created only a little lower than
The angels, have crouched too long in
The bruising darkness,
Have lain too long
Face down in ignorance.
Your mouths spilling words
Armed for slaughter.
The Rock cries out today, you may stand on me,
But do not hide your face.
Across the wall of the world,
A River sings a beautiful song,
Come rest here by my side.
Each of you a bordered country,
Delicate and strangely made proud,
Yet thrusting perpetually under siege.
Your armed struggles for profit
Have left collars of waste upon
My shore, currents of debris upon my breast.
Yet, today I call you to my riverside,
If you will study war no more. Come,
Clad in peace and I will sing the songs
The Creator gave to me when I and the
Tree and the stone were one.
Before cynicism was a bloody sear across your
Brow and when you yet knew you still
Knew nothing.
The River sings and sings on.
There is a true yearning to respond to
The singing River and the wise Rock.
So say the Asian, the Hispanic, the Jew
The African and Native American, the Sioux,
The Catholic, the Muslim, the French, the Greek
The Irish, the Rabbi, the Priest, the Sheikh,
The Gay, the Straight, the Preacher,
The privileged, the homeless, the Teacher.
They hear. They all hear
The speaking of the Tree.
Today, the first and last of every Tree
Speaks to humankind. Come to me, here beside the River.
Plant yourself beside me, here beside the River.
Each of you, descendant of some passed
On traveller, has been paid for.
You, who gave me my first name, you
Pawnee, Apache and Seneca, you
Cherokee Nation, who rested with me, then
Forced on bloody feet, left me to the employment of
Other seekers–desperate for gain,
Starving for gold.
You, the Turk, the Swede, the German, the Scot …
You the Ashanti, the Yoruba, the Kru, bought
Sold, stolen, arriving on a nightmare
Praying for a dream.
Here, root yourselves beside me.
I am the Tree planted by the River,
Which will not be moved.
I, the Rock, I the River, I the Tree
I am yours–your Passages have been paid.
Lift up your faces, you have a piercing need
For this bright morning dawning for you.
History, despite its wrenching pain,
Cannot be unlived, and if faced
With courage, need not be lived again.
Lift up your eyes upon
The day breaking for you.
Give birth again
To the dream.
Women, children, men,
Take it into the palms of your hands.
Mold it into the shape of your most
Private need. Sculpt it into
The image of your most public self.
Lift up your hearts
Each new hour holds new chances
For new beginnings.
Do not be wedded forever
To fear, yoked eternally
To brutishness.
The horizon leans forward,
Offering you space to place new steps of change.
Here, on the pulse of this fine day
You may have the courage
To look up and out upon me, the
Rock, the River, the Tree, your country.
No less to Midas than the mendicant.
No less to you now than the mastodon then.
Here on the pulse of this new day
You may have the grace to look up and out
And into your sister’s eyes, into
Your brother’s face, your country
And say simply
Very simply
With hope
Good morning.
…
Compare that to the inspirational words of Obama’s spiritual leaders:
In the “Reverse Racism is Cool, Kids” corner, Reverend Jeremiah White:
“Barack knows what it means living in a country and a culture that is controlled by rich white people. Hillary would never know that. Hillary ain’t never been called a nigger. Hillary has never had a people defined as a non-person.”
“God damn America for treating our citizens as less than human. God damn America for as long as she acts like she is God and she is supreme.”
Rick Warren (all of these from the Pew forum debate on the Myths of the Modern Megachurch , which is worth a read just to get a good glimpse at what pluralism means to the modern-day Billy Graham), speaking from the “As Long As God Agrees With Me, and Everyone Else Agrees With God, Screw the Homos” perspective:
“In looking at a hierarchy of evil, I would say homosexuality is not the worst sin. But I would also say homosexuality is not natural. I think that there are certain parts of a body that are made to fit together. “
“I think a gay person has the right to make their case and I think I have a right to make my case. And I think that in a democracy, we have a right to vote on it. I do not believe in judges who go out and find all kinds of excuses to thwart the will of the majority.”
So, basically, until the majority believes that gay marriage is okay, he’s free to keep doing his best to try to convince his followers that God wants them to vote against gay marriage. Interesting.
Shame on us for not facing up to the issue and forcing it to become a part of the national dialogue now that the election is over. We’ve come a long way baby, but it sadly appears to be in the wrong direction. Unless you’re against gay people having the right to be more than just roomies in the eyes of their friends and family. In which case, we’re headed in the right direction.
Presidential Inaugural Committee, on behalf of the majority of Americans who aren’t religious nutjobs, congratulations on a fairly epic fail.
