The Obama Project@WindonWater.net

Found this online.

What is it to me that homosexuals have or do not have the right to marry? When most marriages only have a 50-50 chance of surviving – a number driven up by the 75% failure rate of black marriages, why would I want to deny anyone else the chance to get it right?

I’m answering this question personally, because Keith Olbermann’s “Special Comment” was addressed personally, and to not take personal ownership of the issue seems a cop out, unfair, and unjust to those who are sincerely asking. Here is his special comment:

I take it Mr. Olbermann is not a religious man. If he were, he could not use some of the words he used. A religious person doesn’t start from the point of view of “no matter what the text says, my heart says different.” A religious person agonizes over that conflict, and tries to find a way to live within the constraints given. A religious person recognizes in him or herself any number of conflicts – of ways that they fall short of the text they strive to follow. A religious person turns continually to the God of their understanding for both forgiveness for their shortcomings, and understanding of why some things are required of them. A religious person turns often to God and says “that seems capricious… why did that have to happen?” And a religious person considers that ongoing struggle, argument, fight, and reconciliation – to be the substance of faith.

Because that is the way of religious life, the appeal to conscience is destined to fail. Every time someone accuses a religious person of hypocrisy, or sneers at a religion just because it says something contrary to what other people believe, they are reinforcing the behavior they hope to change. Those who are faithful expect the sneers, and those who are faithful expect the agony. Those who are faithful can honestly look at what is hypocritical in themselves, and try to make good – but making good doesn’t come by dropping their faith – it comes by clinging more to it. Whenever you ask me, “How can a loving God reject the love of homosexuals?” I ask God. (In fact,I don’t believe that God rejects the love of homosexuals – that’s a strawman argument. But I’m answering as if I did.) I don’t decide, unilaterally, that God is wrong, and I am right, or that the God of my understanding is wrong and the God of someone else’s understanding is right. That way of thinking – of changing what we believe when it is no longer convenient to believe it – is the fundamental definition of hypocrisy.

My understanding of homosexuality has evolved. I don’t believe homosexuality is a symptom of sin. I don’t hate homosexuals. And I don’t personally believe that homosexuals getting married have anything to do with me, nor do I believe it affects me in any way. But – if you ask me should they do it, I’m still likely to say “No.” I will say it because I’ve belonged, in my lifetime, to three different religions, none of which embraced gay marriage.

I THINK I would have voted “No” on Proposition 8, had that task fallen to me. I think I would have, because the supreme court already said that the right existed. But I’m not judging those who voted “yes” because I was not in their climate – I was not subject to the argument day and night – I’m not sure if everyone would automatically understand their duty to vote on the issue as a separation of church and state issue – their obligation to reserve their personal judgment in favor of voting for a civil law.

So – what does this mean? Ultimately, it means we need to find a way to articulate, loudly, clearly, that we are talking about a civil issue. We need to find ministers and other religious leaders who can authoritatively say “this is a separation of church and state” issue. We need to vote on what our conscience CAN vote on.

Having said that… I note that the landmark changes to people’s fundamental understanding of the law required intervention by the Supreme Court, and a war. Blacks did not get the right to marry, nor the right to intermarry by plebiscite. Perhaps there is something to be learned here. I would sign on for a fight all the way to the Supreme Court to make civil unions the law of the land, and marriage the domain of religious institutions to administer as they will. I would join on such a fight, wholeheartedly.

QT

One thing I heard some liberal commentators say, as to why Proposition 8 would fail, was that it was much harder to contemplate taking rights away than it was to contemplate conferring new ones. The argument was that as people went to the polls, they would find it hard to take away rights.

I remember finding that argument less than persuasive, but not thinking about it much, being neither gay, nor a Californian. In retrospect, how do you square that idea against a vast number of people who don’t believe that the right to “gay marriage” exists in the first place? Asked to vote should the right be taken away – the answer isn’t “obviously no” because it is far from “obvious” that the right existed in the first place.

Indeed – by going to proposition – the inherent statement is – the right isn’t actually a right. The Supreme Court’s judgment is rendered on the law as written, but the question is “is the law written right?” And the people of California said “no… it’s not. It needs to be better written to make clear that there is no such right as “gay marriage”.” Well – we can argue about that, and I guess we will, but I just wanted to go on record about the dubious thinking – the utter failure of those supporting the gay marriage issue of understanding those who would vote against it.

QT

One of the interesting outcomes of the Obama victory is the building of a coalition of religious people from diverse backgrounds. Particularly, African Americans and the Hispanic community showed up in force for Obama. In California, this had an effect that I’ll call “adverse” – Obama came out against Proposition 8 – the rescinding of the right of homosexuals to marry in the state of California, but his coalition voted in favor of the proposition.

I promised that I would discuss this topic after the election – a promise that lead to absolute silence on my blog. Talking about homosexuality and the black community seems a bit beyond my abilities – I am atypical in my beliefs and practices. Still – as one voice in the black community, and as one voice largely sympathetic to those who voted FOR Proposition 8 (though I don’t know that I would have), I’m going to do my best.

I’ll be back. But for now I want to share some of the thinking I’ve already done on the subject. On Ex Isle, I posted a lengthy exploration of the issue when it first erupted due to the Donnie McClurkin flap early in the primaries. For any who want to read that discussion (it is long, but interesting) here it is: http://www.exisle.net/mb/index.php?s=&showtopic=49441&view=findpost&p=1055991. It is likely that I will retread old ground here, but I’ll try to do it more succinctly, and more specifically to the topic of gay marriage.

The other thing I want to do is share this video of the late Rev. James Cleveland. To say he was a giant of gospel music would be like saying that the Grand Canyon is a big ditch. I remember when hearing that he had died of AIDS contracted from his gay lover, being shocked, offended, and nearly boycotting James Cleveland. It took years before I could reconcile my feelings about that. But in the end, he remains beloved. Whatever his struggles, whatever his ups and downs – he contributed not only immensely to the world of Gospel, but to my own life. His music always spoke to me when I needed a reminder that God was bigger than anything I might be going through.

Obama Family

Our new President-Elect invites us to join in. I accept!

QT

I have been trying to think about how to put my thoughts down on such a momentous occasion – and honestly – I’ve not come up with anything brilliant. So here are some random thoughts:

- My mom called at 11:03 to celebrate, and then she called again at the end of the acceptance speech. She isn’t usually up that late, and she called me in tears. I had a few of my own.

- Day before Halloween, my son was asked by his classmates to dress up like Obama (he looks like Obama, a little bit). We don’t celebrate Halloween, and he didn’t want to be all dressed up, so he put it to a vote. “Find 75 people who want me to do it, and I’ll do it.” he said. They found 72, so he didn’t. Still – I thought it was funny, and flattering all at the same time that he was asked – he’s one of very few black males at his school – and certainly the only one who looks like an adult Obama (there are a handful of kids who look like the younger version, chubby cheeks and all, but my son is slender).

- Coming in to Grand Central this morning – it really felt that way – like scales had fallen from my eyes and the entire world looked different. I kept looking around to see signs of this new world – and couldn’t find any – everything looked the same – only… brighter. And… no newspapers anywhere on the stand. I’m sorry I didn’t get a souvenir, but wow… I mean – NO newspapers! ANYWHERE! Everyone in NYC is celebrating the historic moment. (I also, in keeping with the 21st century feel of the moment, compensated for not being able to get a newspaper by downloading today’s New York Times to my Kindle…)

- I wish I could have called my dad. I doubt we would have had anything to say to each other, but, I wish I could have called him. My stepmother too.

- I was all set for one of those great inspirational Obama-speeches, but in the first couple of minutes, I realized we weren’t going to get that. We were instead getting a nose-to-the-grind invitation. Of the two – I’m glad we got the latter. I am very much looking forward to seeing an administration where we the people are invited to participate, rather than one which hides from us and lies to us.

- Nate Silver on the race and class issues in DC: http://www.fivethirtyeight.com/2008/11/in-nations-capital-pandemonium-after.html

– Ta-Nehesi Coates liveblogs The Moment: http://ta-nehisicoates.theatlantic.com/archives/2008/11/presidents_to_represent_me_1.php

– Bob Cesca on radio! www.wjfk.com (Posted that mostly for myself – I missed him on the show last night and want to try to catch a recording of it.)

Tomorrow I hope to post on blacks and Proposition 8…. but today I’m celebrating!

QT

Click the picture to enlarge.

QT

I’m off to bed – but it looks like North Carolina will flip – and I promised North Carolina organizers that I would give them rainbow crowns if they flipped the state.