Much Ado About Nothing: Rick Warren

Disclaimer: For those of you who know me, you know that usually my opinions probably do not line up with yours – I still love you. Seriously, please do not take this post the wrong way. And feel free to comment! We can have an educated discussion without being hateful, hurtful, or just plain rude.

For a while I've paid little attention to the entire debacle about Rick Warren for good reasons – it's really not one of the most important things that we need to be worried about (i.e. housing crisis, lack of jobs for recent college graduates, urban gentrification, etc.). But I watched the 20/20 interview with Rick Warren a couple of weeks ago and he seems like an okay guy to me. After doing a little research on the arguments against Rick Warren, here’s what I've came up with…

I respect Obama for selecting Rick Warren to give the invocation because he is showing his willingness to work with individuals who might not necessarily agree with him – that's the kind of president we need. We've witness for eight years what can happen when you line up with folks who are nothing but afraid of you or think like you (i.e. Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld, Gonzales, Yoo). Warren represents a section of America who simply do not believe that homosexuality is right and rightfully so, they are entitled to feel that way. Obama is reaching out to evangelicals and other conservatives who actually wanted Mike Huckabee or John McCain to be president, he is demonstrating that he is a man of courage and not afraid to make difficult decisions even when his liberal colleagues rank against him.

Do I agree with everything Warren says? No. Does he make valid points? Yes.

Just like with Abortion and the Death Penalty, I do not agree with homosexuality. I wouldn't have an abortion myself, but I wouldn't chastise anyone who does. I don't agree with the Death Penalty because it's nothing but a "legalized" form of murder. And I don't agree with homosexuality, but I have countless friends who are gay and I love them just the same.

I don't live anyone else life but my own, and I'm human just like you, so who am I to act "holier than thou" and judge anyone's life choices. I don't have to necessarily accept it, but I can be tolerant to it and respect you as a person. I don't have to agree with what you do in order to be friends with you (this is probably where people get the definition of tolerance mixed up with acceptance – they are two entirely different concepts). From what I've read, Warren seems tolerant of gays (kind of a "love the sinner but hate the sin" situation) but as far as accepting a marriage union between them, he's against it.

The arguments against Warren is founded on his staunch opposition to gay marriage but wait a minute maybe some of you are forgetting that neither Obama nor Biden support gay marriage. Matter of fact BOTH of them have stated numerous times that marriage is between a man and a woman. They believe that gays should be entitled the same rights (i.e. adopting, health care, etc.) but both men stopped short of agreeing to gay marriage.

I've recently heard that Rick Warren will be speaking at Ebenezer Baptist for MLK Day and many gay coalitions are opposed to it. From what I understand, Obama addressed the congregation last year and spoke about homophobia in the black community: "we have scorned our gay brothers and sisters instead of embracing them." And with Rick Warren speaking this year, some feel that this is a back step for the black community. I disagree.

Once again this is a case of tolerance vs. acceptance. Just because someone disagrees with your sexual orientation doesn't necessarily make them homophobic. My father doesn't agree with interracial marriage, does that mean he's racist? No, of course not. Dr. King preached about racial equality and tolerance. He didn’t say that people had to "like" and frolicking through the gardens with African-Americans, but simply that African-Americans should be granted the same basic rights as a citizen of this country regardless of their race. If you want to use MLK message in this context, it would be a message of tolerance to gays in the community – but like most southern preachers – I don't necessarily think MLK would "accept" homosexuality. But that's just my opinion.

I know individuals are still hanging on to hope that America will genuinely honor diversity but I think we still have a long way to go. As for Rick Warren – let the man invocate the name of Jesus. If ask me Obama should have picked Rev. Wright (yeah, I said it).

"We bombed Hiroshima, we bombed Nagasaki, and we nuked far more than the thousands in New York and the Pentagon, and we never batted an eye. We have supported state terrorism against the Palestinians and black South Africans, and now we are indignant because the stuff we have done overseas is now brought right back to our own front yards (9/11). America's chickens are coming home to roost." – Rev. Jeremiah Wright (truth straight from the pulpit if I ever heard it)

Jah Bless.

Embracing Change & Getting Things Done...

“I have changed over the years because I have struggled to understand and change the world. People who question change cannot really be trying to do this. How can you be in the world and your ideas over the years remain the same?” – Amiri Baraka

As we enter and welcome a new year, I felt that it was appropriate to write about change. Everything must change. It’s the only constant in our life. Sometimes facing the inevitable change, you listen to the small voice inside you, your intuition, which is plugged into the wavelength of God. Like most folks, change can take you by surprise and is not usually welcomed. However, if you embrace the arrival of change, you can always ride it out and grow through the temporary challenge of it, unafraid and resourceful. As the noted poet Baraka says, change can transform your life in thought and deed. Open your heart to change and let it seep into your being deeper and deeper for a true overhaul. The old things feel comfortable to us like a favorite jacket. But it may be time to give it up. Change can be stressful, yet the transition to the new and fresh can be very rewarding and positive.

As the year progresses do not procrastinate and fall victim to laziness. If something needs to get done, just do it! Everyone has an excuse for putting things off. Life happens. Events such as gossiping with friends, shopping, or watching one of your “stories” in the afternoon can prevent you from doing something necessary or crucial. It’s not the achievement of a task or project that could make you laugh or fill you with pride, but the process of doing it, going into action, that can make your day worthwhile. As the elders used to say, “Don’t put off something until tomorrow that you could do today.” In a life, when the work gets done, achievements and accomplishments mount up and the value of your time on earth only gets better and better.

I've learned that getting things done is really not that complicated, it takes the simple will inside you to basically just get up and do it. It may be something small but it's a contribution, if you see a piece of trash in the middle of your room on the floor, you can choose to pick it up, or leave it where it is, but the same changing power you have over that piece of trash, in the little environment that is your room, is the same power you have over the massive environment we call this world. You can choose to make a plan, come up with steps to reach that plan, and watch your plan unfold, or you can stay a crumpled up piece of trash in the center of a room.

Marcus Garvey once said: "I repeat that God created you masters of your own destiny. I trust that you will so live today as to realize that you are masters of your own destiny, masters of your fate; if there is anything you want in this world, it is for you to strike out with confidence and faith in self and reach for it, because God has created it for your happiness wheresoever you may find it in nature. Nature is bountiful, nature is resourceful and nature is willing to obey the command of man, man is the sovereign lord, man who is supposed to hold dominion and take possession of this great world of ours." Welcome 2009 with open arms and make it your mission to achieve your goals, dreams, and the impossible.

Jah Bless.