Joseph Lowery is giving the benediction. He is pro same sex marriage. What I hope is that we can drop this gay rights, women's rights, minority rights, religious rights, father's rights, and any other sub category you can think of and get to the real issue. HUMAN RIGHTS. We should all be treated the same as long as there is no direct harm done to someone else. For an extreme example, if I kill you I have infringed on your rights. That is wrong. Agreed?
If I marry a woman or a man, that does not effect your ability to marry the individual you want. Therefore, it is my right. If I perform the same job with the same responsibilities and you pay me less, you have interfered with my ability to pursue my life. That is a violation of my human rights. Period. For what ever reason you give.
I think the selection of these two sides of the same coin and the order in which they will appear is a masterful use of symbolism. Start with the old and end with a symbol of a new era. Brilliant.
Religion is not an us versus them tool. It is a me tool. If I can get these idiots...er I mean people of faith... to follow me, I can impose my will on others for my own benefit. All I have to do is scam them long enough to consolidate my power. After that they are cannon fodder for all I care. Check out history. CNN just wasted our time with a special on Jonestown. I say wasted our time because they didn't point out that what happened there IS the purpose of religion. Always has been, always will be, AMEN.
Someone in a post I can't find now changed my perspective on the Warren selection. They stated that Warren was giving the invocation and that the benediction was being given by an inclusive individual. I am unsure of the name and would like to find the original post. But if it is true, it is a wonderful and powerful use of symbolism. Think about this.
Obama is starting the inaugural proceedings with a symbol of the divisive politics and bigotry of politics since Reagan and the Moral Majority. Then after he takes over the reins of government he he ending the ceremonies with a symbol of a new era of inclusion and unity. If true, I am impressed with his skills for leadership and human psychology than I was before.
Just a thought.
Someone posted a comment on the Benediction speaker. I tried to comment my thanks for the broader perspective on Warren, but the system wouldn't accept my post. When I got that straightened out I couldn't find the post again. If you are the one that mentioned this, please respond to this post. I really want to thank you by user name and point others to your post. I was disappointed in the selection of Warren until you completed the picture.
The way I see it now, Obama is opening with the past divisive policies of the past and closing with the dawn of a new unifying policy for the future. Powerful symbolism.
Kimi, I saw a comment that mentioned the benediction speaker earlier and your comment under it. Now I can't find it. Do you remember the poster? I would like to comment on it and thank the individual for clarifying my perspective on the issue.
I base my opinion of organized religion on its performance through out history. It has been responsible for more human suffering, social and intellectual regression than any other human activity in the history of man kind. In my opinion the superstition we call religion is a bane of humanity and the world created by people to justify our abuse of one another and the planet as a whole. It is not needed for ethics or morality and in most cases is a detriment to finding a legitimate set of both. It is an institution that is designed by man to cement the power usurped by the few. That is its historical role in human history.
Reading several of the comments in this string and the previous string on same sex marriage, strikes me that we are making a fundamental mistake in how we are looking at these issues. These aren't gay rights or father's rights or women's rights. They are HUMAN rights. Gays, straights, male, female, religion, ethnicity, race should not be a consideration. I know that can be difficult during a divorce, but the legal system needs to try. And more importantly, we have to try. We need to treat one another the way we want to be treated, no matter how angry or uncomfortable we may be. Children should spend as much time with both parents as possible unless there is proven risk to the child. Even then as much supervised visitation as possible should be allowed. Marriage between two individuals should be the end of it. Equal pay for equal work
1) We decide morality whether we do it directly or through some mythical construct used to manipulate people. That includes your god, zeus, odin, or any of the countless others through history.
2) Your god also calls eating shellfish, pork, and other scavengers and abomination. The same wording for all non reproductive sex.
3) The author of the Declaration of Independence was a deist not a christian as were many of the signers of the Constitution. Not once does the Constitution mention god. christian or otherwise. A deist is someone that believes in a creator that left or died after creating the world.
4) You are free to practice your traditions, but I am not obligated to.
Capitalization is on purpose.
Vote; I meant to respond to K. I agree that we need more than little cracker boxes. One I know of is the Avalanche with an 8 cylinder engine that will work on 3 when cruising. My cousin gets 37 mpg with it. I am talking about that type of technology that they big 3 fought for decades.
Matt, I agree. I am waiting to see if Geithner was working under constraints from Paulson and/or Bernanke on the crisis. Hopefully, he will be effective in implementing Obama's stated objectives and policy.
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Medley