A Protest of Another Kind

By Tom Yamaguchi

I must admit to feeling conflicted about Barack Obama's decision to have Rick Warren give the invocation at the inauguration. I have finally decided protest is appropriate, but not because of his stand on gay marriage. Let me explain.

Like many, my initial reaction was disbelief. Why invite him when there are other ministers who do good work without carrying Rick Warren's baggage? But is it worth going through all the effort to force him off the program? After all, it's only an invocation. He is not being nominated to a cabinet post or, worse, to the Supreme Court. It is mostly a ceremonial position, similar to being named an honorary chairperson of the Inauguration Committee that currently includes openly lesbian House Representative Tammy Baldwin.

Let's face it. Warren is not going to be uninvited no matter what we think. Obama obviously sees political advantage to having him there. Warren is an ally in the fight against global warming. That sets him apart from a lot of fundamentalists who are climate change deniers. Considering the current gridlock in Washington on enacting laws to reduce greenhouse gases, having Warren as access to faith-based communities makes a lot of sense.

So wouldn't inviting Warren be like inviting the Nazis and KKK? I have trouble with equating Warren and the Saddleback Church with those who have committed terrorism and genocide. I don't believe Warren hates LGBT people, and I have yet to read any statements by Warren that could incite acts of violence against us. Yes, the statements on marriage equality are ignorant, but I don't find them hateful. Besides, why should I care if Rick Warren believes I am going to hell? I am a person of faith, but I don't believe in the hell that Warren imagines. I don't believe in a god or goddess that would punish two people for being in love.

I support marriage equality, but I can't paint those who oppose it with the broad brush of homophobia. Believe it or not, there are people who are not homophobic but have trouble with the concept of gay marriage. They can accept domestic partnerships. They are with us when it comes to ending job discrimination, increasing penalties on hate crimes, and repealing Don't Ask, Don't Tell. Why can't we work with these people on the issues where we agree? Why does marriage have to be the litmus test for deciding who are friends are? Do we have to adopt George Bush's "my way or the highway" mentality?

I'm not saying we should just shut up and give Obama a free pass. Warren's religious views are ridiculous and need to be ridiculed. The questions are how to protest and why we are protesting. It would be a mistake to boycott the inauguration as leaders of some LGBT organizations have suggested. If we don't show up, others will he happy to take our places, especially those who think Rick Warren is a great idea. We could show up and just turn our backs when Warren speaks, but how uncreative. Hey, we're gay people! We need a protest that is more, well, gay!

This is my protest idea. If you are going to the inauguration, take a toy dinosaur and a Barbie doll. If you don't have a Barbie you could bring a GI Joe or other human-type doll. You can choose any kind of dinosaur, even Barney, if you like. When Warren launches into his invocation, take your dinosaur and doll in each hand and wave them in front of you. Have them interact, just the way the folks at Saddleback believe real humans and dinosaurs interacted at the beginning of time. That was 5,000 years ago, right? If you're like me and will not be freezing your buns off in Washington, you and your friends can protest in front of the TV.

Wave your dolls and dinosaurs to show Obama how this choice sends the wrong message. This is the same Obama who has committed himself to restoring science to its proper place for policymaking in government. Obama has nominated Nobel winning scientists to important positions in his administration. He assures us his science team won't be afraid to confront inconvenient truths when it comes to solving our energy and environmental crises. Then he contradicts that message by promoting a man who believes the Bible is literally true. Warren does believe that God created Earth within a period of days and put dinosaurs and humans here at the same time. His extinction theory is that dinosaurs failed to survive Noah's great flood.

It's no wonder his ideas on homosexuality are screwed up. All of his ideas on biology are screwed up. It's a miracle he understands global warming. At least he doesn't agree with Evangelicals who see no reason to clean up the environment because Jesus is coming back and the world will be ending soon anyway.

We can let Rick Warren give his invocation, but let us not lose the opportunity for a teaching moment. Our protest can be that teaching moment. It wasn't Adam and Steve. It wasn't Adam and Eve. And it sure wasn't Fred Flintstone and Dino.