It was only 2 months ago that the Mormon Church paid a lot of money to help pass prop. 8 in California.  There was that moment of clarity when Melissa Etheridge cut though all the smoke and dust and drew that line in the sand saying she would not pay taxes if they did not give her the same rights as other citizens.  That hits the bedrock, they want your taxes but they want to deny you your rights. 

Now we have the Rick Warren 'issue' and there seems to be a lot of smoke and dust swirling around this one too.  His church will not allow someone who is gay to join.  That is the bedrock.  No matter how placating and pleading and pathetic the reasoning, it does not explain away that bedrock.  Prop 8 denies gays their ‘rights', Pastor Rick's church denies them themselves. If you believe that ‘gayness’ is something one can put on or off like clothes, then you can disrobe and enter the halls of Pastor Rick's grace.  But if gayness is experienced as part of  who you are, and to deny it is to deny a part of yourself, then you can either lie  to yourself and enter the good Pastor's kingdom or stand up for yourself and be  banished.  To me it makes no logical sense; deprivation of rights is crossing a line but denial of one's self is "oh well, Pastor Rick seems to mean well."  Absurd!  It seems that even Melissa has been duped and confused by that smooth tongued wolf in sheep’s clothing.  Melissa was upset that they would deprive her of her rights, whereas Pastor Rick would deprive her of herself.  Oh, but he feels for the poor. 

This 'gay' issue is a wound that will not heal, it festers on and on.  I think it is because gays don't say, "Enough!"  There is no getting around what his church stands for.  They may have taken it off their web page but that is still their policy.  Or did he come out and denounce and reject that policy, was there a press conference I missed?  To 'clear the palate' entertain the thought for a  minute of Mr. Obama selecting a pro-segregationist pastor whose church does not  allow blacks to become members.  What would the reaction be?  Would all those pundits still be on TV saying it was 'politically clever' to do it?   Would they be saying this was a good way for Barack to stand up to his base?  Or could Barack say it shows 'inclusiveness' to invite one who excludes others to have a place of honor at the inauguration? No!  Barack spoke at his church, the reciprocal invitation would be for Warren to speak at Obama's church, or maybe a special conference for religious leaders, let him speak there. But the reciprocal is NOT giving him a place of honor in the national space, thereby implicitly honoring what he and his church represent.

How is it "OK" for Pastor Rick to speak to our nation when he is the head of a church that does not acknowledge that a gay person is a spiritual being, as is?   It's time to say, "Enough!” to boycott that event and have every right-thinking person you know boycott that event.  One idea I had, (and I have no idea if it is a good one or bad one) was to have everyone tune into Turner Classic Movies during the inauguration.  Have everyone you know and every TV you can muster tuned into TCM and NOT the inauguration.  That would show solidarity (and hopefully TCM will put on a suitable movie).

Whether that is a good idea or not, the bottom line is that everyone needs to grasp the bedrock firmly and not be moved or deluded.  This is the bedrock; Rick Warren represents a church that denies gays have the right to exist as they are.  They see the heart you have and the soul you were given as unworthy to them.  You are either going to let them look at your heart  and soul and say, "unworthy", or you are going to stand up for yourself and tell  them your heart, just as it is, has a communion with God and they have no right or presumed authority to  question it.  Rick Warren is wrong, Barack Obama is wrong, and all those pundits are wrong.  That is the bedrock.  Are you a soul that has a relationship with God, just as you are, or do you need Mr. Warren and Mr. Obama's say so?  It is YOUR choice.  Boycott the inauguration and have everyone you know boycott it.  Turn your backs on them as they have done to you.