Let's Welcome All to the Obama Administration

While Rick Warren is not my spiritual leader, I see no problem with him delivering a two-minute prayer at the Obama Inauguration. I have not read Warren's sermons or books, but if I did, I would probably find something in them which to agree and to disagree with. I am appalled at the uproar about his selection to have a minor voice in the swearing in ceremony of Barack Obama.

For the past eight years, I have been occasionally harrassed by my differences with President Bush. Yet, I found something in one of this addresses after 9/11 that I took to heart: get involved in your community. I've done that at the Nashville Zoo and in the Stop Litter movement. I disagree with Bush on almost every other issue, but I found a morsel of wisdom in one of his speeches.

After the election of 2008, I am haunted by an email from my sister, signed from "a conservative in exile." I have a been a moderate liberal in exile for eight years, and I do not want to place any conservative in exile for eight years. Well, maybe Anne Coulter and Russ Limbaugh can enter Elba for life.

The United States needs to stay united, but accept that we do not all agree with each other. If gays shut out Rick Warren, the religious right will further be alienated from them. Barney Frank should be shouting, "Hey, I'm gay, and I'm brilliant. You need my expertise in economics right now." Gays need to show that they are just regular people to conservatives, and that they are not out to eat their dog or sacrifice their cat to the Gay God.

Obama won the election by showing that we all are welcome despite our differences. Sarah Palin pointed out our differences and is back in Alaska shooting at an endangered species from a helicopter. Yes, we need to outlaw that. Hunting is okay if conservation is its ultimate goal and the hunter uses and eats what she kills.

The United States became a house divided in 1861-1865. It failed. As a southerner, I felt alienated by the Civil War much of my life, although I was born 90 years after the event. We need to stop the us versus them mentality of the past eight years.

Jesus welcomed all to hear his message. Later it was rewritten to appeal to the Jews, the Gentiles, the Romans and others. Much later, it was packaged in Catholicism, Calvinism and Conservatism.

President-elect Obama has many difficult tasks ahead of him and his administration. Each of us should be willing to reach out to others and lend a hand. I could care less if my left hand is clutching a gay and my right hand is clutching a religious fundamentalist. All of us can find something in each other to respect if we just take the time to look.