"Starscapes & Typography" [no.# 5-6]

Keeping with my practice of regularly posting my original nameplate illustrations, once they are complete & scanned into my computer, I'd like to present two new additions to my "STARSCAPES & TYPOGRAPHY" series. In presenting these design illustrations, I'd like also to speak briefly of the persons for which my art was designed, because it is often these recipients who have had and continue to have a profound impact on my life today. They deserve the gift of art, and I hope that they will cherish these works & display them with pride to their friends and family.

First, I feel rather obliged to speak my sobering thoughts of underlying shame and regret that presently inhibit my relationship with the recipient of this first name plate (of whom my readers have already heard plenty of thoughts & impressions from me in past posts to my blog): WALLACE (WES) SMITH.

"STARSCAPES & TYPOGRAPHY [no.#5] : WALLACE (WES) SMITH"
©2009 QHereKidSF | Matthew Blanchard | San Francisco, CA USA

You see, as I am presently residing in a substance abuse recovery facility and am overwhelmed by a very full schedule of day treatment and evening meeting, as well as by the additional work I do as a volunteer for the new international development nonprofit of which my best friend, Peter Maybarduk, is Acting Director & Vice-President of the Board: IPPSL | International Professional Partnerships for Sierra Leone, Inc. (http://www.ippsl.org/ - Site Under Construction!).

The last few (or maybe even many) times I've written hangout time with WES into my schedule, I have often invited him back to my apartment to meet me there for fun and entertainment: a good time. But, shame on me! I have more often than not in the last few weeks failed to pay WES any attention, as I've been consumed with work on the computer & internet (specifically, for my nonprofit).

I have apologized repeatedly to WES for my inexcusable refusal to pay him any attention or to enjoy his company when he is here to support me in my time of transition and need, but apologies only go so far, before someone gets fed up with waiting for things to change and to receive what's due to them: respect! So, here I am telling on myself...disclosing my terrible behavior and promising to make a change and to make amends!!

I have every intention of dropping all other commitments, be they treatment or nonprofit work related, this coming Thursday, in order to give WES my full attention, so that we are able to enjoy our time together. And so that, he does not feel that I am taking him for granted. I cherish our friendship and all that he has sacrificed to send so much compassion, understanding and patience my way. I don't want to lose his support; that's for sure! So, things will change! Thursday, we'll do something special to entertain ourselves; I promise that as I state it here for the record. And rest assured! I will be sharing this blog post with WES, as soon as it has been published.

• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

The recipient of my sixth STARSCAPES & TYPOGRAPHY nameplate illustration is a particularly robust and respectful man of faith who splits his professional time between Substance Abuse Treatment Counseling at Ferguson Place of Baker Places, Inc. and his service as a preacher for a small, liberal, progressive, culturally diverse Baptist Church not to far away from our facility on Divisadero Street. I'm sorry, at this time, I do not recall the name of his church, but will come back to this post and add it to the text here once I find out this information from one Rev. KEENAN R. BRANNER.

"REVERENCE & STARSCAPES [no.#1] : KEENAN R. BRANNER (Rev.)"
©2009 QHereKidSF | Matthew Blanchard | San Francisco, CA USA

I designed KEENAN's nameplate on paper with different proportions & measurements than my previous designs, so in order to distinguish this my most recent illustration, I've given it a unique title: "REVERENCE & STARSCAPES: Keenan R. Branner (Rev.)," completed only this morning after almost two months of slow but not at all tedious work. I hope he (as well as all of my followers) enjoys this design. I'm quite proud of it. He asked for a crucifix, and that is what I gave him!! What do you all think of this pencil drawing? Any ideas for the next nameplates I create?? I'd like to try something new with each additional illustration I do, so suggestions for innovation and change would be greatly appreciated. Thanks & Enjoy!!

Respectfully submitted,
Matt(e)o | QHereKidSF
Matthew D. Blanchard
San Francisco, CA 94109
[MDB2009.09.14@09:45PST]

"An Escape Hatch for a Troubled Intellect!"

The following is the text from an email thread dialogue I am continue to have with a former Facebook™ Friend: Jeff Parker. I am entering this text into my blog as a public record of this insightful, illuminating correspondence. I hope that in sharing these words with my followers, I might impart a sense of the divine purpose that I feel having been bestowed upon me by God (or a Higher Power) in light of my death-defying, tragic illness and injury.  
 
I sincerely hope as well that Jeff doesn't have any qualms with me making this dialogue public. I do so in a way to honor him, for "the fragments of Enlightenment" that we have shared with one another through written conversation. First is the text that Jeff Parker wrote me in response to my Facebook™ Email message (see blog entry: "An Irreverent, Licentious Remark on God!"), and then you will find the long, tedious, rambling remarks that I wrote to him just this evening on Facebook™. 

JEFF PARKER'S FACEBOOK™ MESSAGE TO ME:

Hi Matthew,
Divine faith is neither. It is an escape hatch for a troubled intellect. I believe only in Science and curiosity. Only science can achieve the sublime and find universal truths. With that said, everyone's spiritual journey is different. Your's is especially challenging, but you will get through it. Do whatever works for you, but know that Science is your friend. The pastors & priests make promises for some future paradise, some with good intentions, some with cynical and corrupt motives.

Let them take care of your spirt until your body is healed, and even cured, by Science, as mine was. I am amazed every day by the beauty of the natural world around me. Heaven is here right now. Don't miss it. And know that I wish you the best.

RE: MERRY CHRISTMAS & HAPPY HOLIDAYS! Email Correspondance.
Jeff Parker, Facebook™; January 5, 2009 at 11:34 AM.
Retrieved on January 13, 2009 at 03:17 AM.

MY RESPONSE TO JEFF PARKER'S FACEBOOK® MESSAGE:

Jeff, I'm sorry to regret having sent you these preachy, pious and proselytizing emails which only provoke your atheism and rational faith in Science, while making me sound like a completely ignorant, brain-washed ascetic. I want you to know that I do also very much believe in Science as the ultimate source for universal truths and healing.

While I have in the past year tired to open myself up to my faith, believing that both it and Science are not a diametrically opposed binary but instead work cohesively together in broadening our understanding of humankind and all things greater than the human intellect, I have at the same time completely abandoned myself to the process of healing though Science.

Science can answer many questions on the mysteries of life, but there are some questions, I believe, that cannot be answered through Science. That's why we have Faith and Religion—to answer the greater preponderances of the human intellect. Major, predominant, contemporary philosophical theories of a Supreme Being and the Divine argue this same thesis.

I agree with you, as I've said, that Science can lead us to many universal truths, but I do not want to be misled to put all my faith excludively into Science; especially now, during my time of immense struggle, discovery and reawakening. I am not a born again Christian. I have been saved not figuratively in the Evangelical sense of the word, but literally both by the miracles of Science and by the miracles of God. Or so I choose to believe!

This, my mutually respective, combined faith in Science and in God, has allowed me to develop a deeper sense of faith in Myself, believing out of circumstance and necessity, that since I have survived death-defying, brutal illness and injury, then I must have a certain calling or purpose in this life that is yet unacheived and still ahead of me to be accomplished and bestowed upon me by a greater being or power that has some important impact on and influence over how the World works.

Is it wrong, in your opinion, to believe that I am meant for something greater, something special, because I have survived? Science doesn't seem to answer the or'looming questions of human intentions, actions and purpose in life. Or, at least, no Science that I have been introduced to answers those questions. If you know of any secular, scientific teaching that could enlighten me as to my purpose in life, please indulge me with the answer!

For now, I'll continue to uphold my faith both in the Divine and in Science, as both will strengthen me in different ways (some physical/tangible and others more abstract/spiritual) and allow me to heal and to survive. Please, do not judge me any less of a person because I hold my faith in the Divine close to my heart, because I am also and equally a firm believer in the miracles, mysteries and mayhem of Science.

In that way, I agree with you! You might be right in saying (although, I'd be hellbent on defending myself against the accusation, if I weren't the victim and survivor of such unspeakable tragedy) that I, like many, use Faith as "an escape hatch for a troubled intellect." I have sought such escape on after falling to an unfathomable low, having my life threatened and saved by Science and by God. And after having my perceptions of the world, my perspective, drastically changed and challenged, flipped upside down onto its dirty underbelly, weak and vulnerable to intimidations of outside forces.

My spiritual journey is "especially challenging!" I ask you though, in admitting this, to not take my faith for granted and denigrate it with awful, licentious remarks.

I have never talked to my priest (or rather, my priest has never discussed with me) about any "promise for some future paradise." He doesn't mention some ulterior, celestial heaven; but instead, he talks to me about demonstrating God's love though our good intentions, actions and experiences with others and about thereby creating a degree or amount or experience of Heaven on Earth: "Heaven is here right now!"

And my priest has yet to answer all my questions and resolve all my doubts. For example, I still wonder how, if God is this blessed, divine, all powerful and eminently/entirely loving being, he could have allowed for this awful tragedy to befall me. Why has he allowed for such great sufferance in my short, young life (delusions, disease, dysfunction, and disfigurement)?

If my faith cannot answer these questions, then I still don't see Science readily offering me any answers or affirmations of life well-lived and good health deserved. Just as much as Faith is a source of great doubt in my life, Science will always be, in my mind, the harbinger of death and disease, not Enlightenment or Salvation. I'll tell you...I'd be a Buddhist, if only I knew enough about that religion to follow their belief system.

My priest does not have "cynical and corrupt motives." He is a well-intentioned, kindhearted, blessed man who only wants to provide me with absolution of my trespasses, assurances of my forward path in Faith, and affirmations of my life and of my miraculous survival/salvation: redemption and reward and recompense in God and in Science.

Finally, in closing, I ask why have you canceled our friend connection on Facebook™? Is it simply because you so wholeheartedly disagree with and were offended by my reverent proselytizing or do you have ulterior motives? I would very much like to have you as a Facebook™ connection, so that we can stay up-to-date on and informed of developments in each others' lives, and because frankly... honestly... truly, I do very much enjoy and benefit from our interactions and correspondence.

Still however, I do not want to be such a burden or offense to you. I just hope that we both can continue to enjoy the beautiful fragments of Enlightenment that we gain from each others in our binary, opposed perspectives on the world. Please, re-accept my invitation to connect on Facebook™, as I would be very grateful to call you a Friend. I want to continue a dialogue with you and hope that you would be interested to know periodically of how I am doing (as I would of you!).

Please, let this be an continuation of our conversation, another jumping off point and not a final, abrupt end to our cyber-interactions. Indulge me, please! Invite me in! Talk to me and continue to share your wisdom with me. I am many times over a better person for what I have gained and will gain from our experience corresponding together.

As always, thank you for reading this email and for offering me your time and attention. Thank you for being willing to consider my thoughts as legitimate and sane and not as merely "an escape hatch for a trouble intellect." And thank you for responding thoughtfully to my remarks! God Speed! Peac Out! Blessings! Until some time soon...

Your Friend,

Matt(e)o | QHereKidSF

P.S., Onto a tangent, I digress: Are you familiar with LinkedIn®, the professional development and networking web service that connects colleagues and classmates though effect and active Internet linkages? Well, if you are not familiar with it, then I encourage you to set up a profile and to connect with me directly there as a member of the College of William & Mary Alumni Network Group.

My public LinkedIn® profile URL is http://www.linkedin.com/in/matthewblanchard/. From there, you will be able to set up an account of your own and request a connection with me.

http://qherekidsf.blogspot.com/
http://www.bebo.com/qherekidsf/
http://www.myspace.com/qherekidsf/
http://www.linkedin.com/in/matthewblanchard/
http://www.pandora.com/people/mblanchard79/
http://www.wmalumni.com/member/mblanchard2002/

THE GREAT ENEMY OF TRUTH IS VERY OFTEN NOT
THE LIE, DELIBERATE, CONTRIVED AND DISHONEST,
BUT THE MYTH, PERSISTENT, PERSUASIVE AND UNREALISTIC.
— John F. Kennedy

SI ON SAIT EXACTEMENT CE QU'ON VA FAIRE,
À QUOI BON LE FAIRE?
If we know exactly what we are going to do,
What's the good of doing it?
— Pablo Picasso

An Escape Hatch for a Troubled Intellect! Email Correspondence.

Matthew Blanchard, Facebook™; January 13, 2009 at 3:04 AM.

Retrieved on January 13, 2009 at 3:24 AM.

PIOUS CELIBACY : Nobler Children of God!

Every week, on Fridays, since I was discarded as a patient of Laguna Honda Hospital & Rehabilitation Center after recuperating for three months after my first craniofacial reconstruction (January 30, 2008), the generous, faithful, altruistic Hospital Chaplain comes to visit me in my home to offer me holy communion, a reading of the Gospel, his homily and anointment. This week's "sante scritture" were readings of the Holy Gospel according to John: Chapter 6, Verses 35-42 & 48-51. A discussion on his homily follows an image of El Greco's painting, Saint John the Apostle and the text of the Holy Gospel.


"John The Apostle, Saint: painting by El Greco." Online Photograph,
Britannica Student Encyclopedia. Jan. 2, 2009,
http://student.britannica.com/eb/art-87622/.

The Holy Gospel acc. to John 6:35-42, 48-52

35 … And Jesus siad unto them, I am the bread of life: He that cometh to me shall not hunger; and he that believeth in me shall never thirst.
36 … But I said unto you, That ye also have seen me, and believeth not.
37 … All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; And him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out.
38 … For I came down from heaven, not to do my own will, but the will of Him that sent me.
39 … And this is the Father's will which hath sent me, that all which he hath given me I should Lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day.
40 … And this is the will of Him that hath sent me, that every one which seeth the son, and believeth in Him, may have everlasting life: And I will raise him up on the last day.
41 … The Jews then murmured to him, because he said, I am the bread which cometh down from heaven.
42 … And they said, Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How is it then that he saith, I came down from Heaven?
48 … I am the bread of life.
49 … Your fathers did eat manna in the wilderness, and are dead.
50 … This is the Bread which cometh down from Heaven, that a man may eat thereof, and not die.
51 … I am the living bread which came down for Heaven: If any man eat of this bread, he shall live forever; And the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the World.
52 … The Jews therefore strove among themselves; Saying, How can this man give us his flesh to eat?

"The Holy Gospel acc. to John 6:35-42, 48-52."
The Holy Bible: King James Version, p. 401.
Paradise Press, Inc., 2006.

PIOUS CELIBACY: Nobler Children of God!
Or The Unfathomably Complex Individual Experience in Faith:
Reaching Closer to God Through "Group/Family" Relationships

Reverend Steven Bartlett-Re's January 2, 2009 Homily for the readings of the Holy Gospel according to John: Chapter 6, verses 35-42 & 48-52 was born of our preliminary, pre-offertory discussion on current world events as they relate to the Israeli/Palestinian conflict and on the antisemitism of Saint John the Apostle and therefore of all Christians argued by an elite group of fundamentalist Jewish religious leaders in contemporary theological studies.

Father Stephen compared the disingenuous belief of Jews in Jesus Christ, as depicted by the Holy Gospel according to John in the above verse and the historical tendency of various religious groups to factionalize and incite internal conflict within the (Roman) State, to the conflict between Jews & Muslims today, as well as to the disputes over Marriage Equality in the USA between the far-right Christian Fundamentalists and the GLBTQ Community today.

He then related the Christian/Gay disputes to the modern argument for "traditional family," born of an original Faith in Christ that was albeit all together egocentric and not at all family-oriented. From there developed Father Stephen's Homily on Pious Celibacy as the perfect path toward redemption, on the unfathomably complex, individual experience of Faith in God, and on the role of "group/family" relationships in the deepening of our realization of that Faith.

Father Stephen first argued that Jesus Christ was not pro-family; but instead, Christ preached that the journey into God's graces is an individual experience of learning unique to each Believer. As opposed to "group/family" relationships, Celibacy was considered the ultimately perfect & righteous path to Redemption. "Group/family" relationships only distracted the believer from his calling, blockading his path toward Salvation with inconvenient, inconsequential, troublesome distractions & conflicts.

Historical theological studies prove that most of Christ's original followers were celibate & unmarried (or divorced) and not bound to any family. Christ, in turn, created a "family" of followers of sorts, tangling his disciples in distinctly human struggles to define their relationships, hierarchy, customs, values, mores, etc.

Modern Christian values define the "family" as the center or the foundation of our Faith and of our journey toward Salvation. While Christ originally meant for his followers to learn strictly from their individual experiences in order to define and strengthen their Faith in God, today's Christians allow for a strengthening of Faith through learning of the sublime complexities of that Faith and connection to God based on "group/family" experiences and relationships.

Our journey toward Salvation remains an uniquely individual experience, only supported by our relationships and interactions with others. In this regard, Father Stephen believes that, as a Chaplain, he can not, for a believer wanting of answers and absolution to his doubting Faith, define another's individual relationship with God and "family." He can only guide them to a righteous path with scripture and teachings on godly Faith and pious action.

Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual & Transgender People's social history in a distinct way mimics this thesis on the value of "group/family" relationships and the complexity of the individual journey toward Salvation. It can be concluded from simple observation of their social interactions that older generations of GLBTQ Americans often beg for a return to simpler times earlier in our Community's history (c.1950-1960's), when only the right to proclaim and exhibit one's love of another was essential and not confounded by complex social mores, maxims and politics. GLBTQ elders often seek a return to a time when they existed comfortably in small, exclusive, clandestine groups that functioned as their surrogate "family."

Modern GLBTQ Culture & Community relationships and the journey toward a completely legitimized, legalized, accepted social identity (i.e., ≈ Salvation) are made more complex and deepened through shared experiences learned in larger, more open social groups (i.e., the GLBTQ "Family") and through generations. In this way, we are led to our present day struggles on the path toward Redemption: the fight for GLBTQ Civil Rights & Marriage Equality. The question remains...What's better: the life of a celibate ascetic gay believer or unions of GLBTQ couples in marriage legalized by the State and sanctified by our religious institutions?

Ironically, Modern Right-Wing Christian Fundamentalists align with older generations of the GLBTQ Community in their desire for simpler things, simpler relationships, simpler ways of being, a simpler Faith in God and a simpler journey toward Salvation, calling no heed to the influence of complex modern social relationships on their experience in God's Love. This system that strictly values former, less complex individual pathways toward Redemption makes these two vehemently opposed communities, in my opinion, prejudicial, exclusive, limited and ignorant in thoughts, values and customs.

The primary difference here between these two binary antithetical communities is that Right-Wing Christian Fundamentalists believe that their "institutions" of "traditional family" and "traditional marriage" are stricture that they are obligated to impose & enforce on all members of Society, regardless of Faith (or absence there of), while older GLBTQ generations do not impose their desire for simpler social relationships on their fellow community members, but rather they exist as an exclusive, discriminatory and relatively weak (again, in my opinion) social network that withholds or negates any of their potentially direct impact on the greater majority of Modern Gays & Lesbians.

Thus, Pious Celibacy as the ultimately perfect and higher route toward Salvation under God is an antiquated equation. In modern Christianity, according to Reverend Stephen Bartlett-Re, followers of Christ (gay & straight alike) should be guided to follow their own individual paths toward Redemption and to define their own unique relationship with and Faith in God by the influences and teachings of their worldly social experiences in groups and in "family." That is a more just, pious journey in God's Love. Preachers of Faith cannot proselytize and suggest exact redeeming actions or beliefs, but must guide their followers toward a discovery and a defining of their unique relationships with God through scripture, teachings and individual "group/family" experiences.

"Homily on the Holy Gospel acc. to John 6: 35-42, 48-52."
Spoken Word by Reverend Stephen Bartlett-Re,
January 2, 2009 1:47PM.

It has been my aim with this intimate, thoughtful essay on Faith and "family" to provoke profound contemplations & questions on the conflicts between Right-Wing Christian Fundamentalists and the GLBTQ Community, on our unique, unfathomably complex individual experiences in God's Love and on the influence of social relationships on our far-reaching, righteous paths toward a realization of Self and a realization of Faith. By offering a discussion on my intimate conversations with my in-home Chaplain, I mean to reveal and share with others the profound wisdom and guidance I receive from my personal leader in Faith.

I do not assume that every reader of this blog entry will whole-heartily agree with the conclusions presented in this discussion, nor do I seek to selfishly impose my beliefs on others. I do hope however that some random faithful soul might be touched by these teachings and have their Faith in God strengthened and stimulated by this sharing. If anything, readers could at least easily chuckle at the ironical comparison we've made between two diametrically opposed groups: Right-Wing Christian Fundamentalists and the GLBTQ Community.

May God bless each of us in our Faith with real instances of prosperity, wisdom, learning, achievements and grace in His Glory through our individual experiences and on our path, this year, further toward Redemption, and may we all be positively & profoundly influenced on our journey toward Salvation through diverse, righteous, valuable social relationships & experiences!

May we find peace amidst turmoil and strife! May we find absolution of our trespasses against others and against God, the Father! May we each have hope and trust in our capacity to grow and develop as Children of God (or of Karma and Chi gong) and in our capacity to reach ever further toward our complete realization of Self and of Faith! And finally: May we be blessed by God and by auspicious Karmic wisdom in 2009!

Beliefnet.com : The Rick Warren Interview

Rick Warren, the megalithic media phenomenon, much-acclaimed pastor of Sattleback Church and financial supporter of Porposition 8 in California: the Constitutional Amendment banning Same-Sex Marriage on November 4, 2008, remarks on Gay Marriage & Divorce in a Beliefnet.com video interview, going so far in his opposition to Gay Marriage as to equate it with the legalization of marriage based on incest, pedophilia and polygamy.


In further investigating the Rick Warren matter on weblogs and in online news journals, I came across a political commentary posted by one Kathryn Kolbert on the CNN.com Politics website, entitled: "Commentary: Choosing Rick Warren was a Mistake." Her comments were extremely revealing to me, as I am sure they were to many curious readers.

Kolbert succinctly argued against President-elect Barack Obama's choice to have Pastor Rick Warren give the pivotal, very significant and solemn inspirational invocation at his inauguration on January 20, 2009, by demonstrating in a very matter of fact manner all the ways in which Warren (a self-reputed "moderate" and "bridge-builder") exemplifies the anti-freedom & anti-gay values of the Evangelical Religious Right.

She contends with the anger & disappointment of the Nation's "progressive activists who worked so hard to elect Barack Obama" by admitting first that some people might be a bit confused by such attestations & discouragements from the extreme political left. She goes on to elucidate the whys & wherefores for the injustice and damned near disgrace of choosing Warren as invocateur for the inauguration.

Mrs. Kolbert says with regards to Warren's opposition to Marriage Equality in California that "it's not just his support for Prop. 8 that is so galling to equality activists. It's that Warren, in an interview with Beliefnet.com, has since equated allowing loving same-sex couples to get married with redefining marriage to permit incest and pedophilia."

Curious as I was, I set out to find this Beliefnet.com video interview with Pastor Rick Warren, and easily found it with a keyword search on their website. I was shocked, appalled and disgusted! Here was a man, a prominent moderate Evangelical leader, justifying anti-equality bigotry and hate-speech by actually agreeing with the interviewer that Gay Marriage is equivalent to incest, pedophilia & polygamy and by always referring back to the self-assured crux of the conversation: that it's not any matter iof whether or not Warren is opposed to Gay Marriage or Civil Unions; what is truly significant is that he opposes a redefinition of Traditional Marriage—as if to hide the bigotry, prejudice and hate behind a vapid veil of more solemn faith in a five thousand year old tradition!

The following is a dictation of the final segment of the Beliefnet.com Rick Warren Interview: On Gay Marriage & Divorce. But better yet for the full dramatic effect, just follow the previous link to view the video for yourself. The text of the interview:

RICK WARREN: "I fully support equal rights for all Americans [...] The issue for me is: I'm not opposed to [Civil Unions] as much as I'm opposed to the redefinition of a five thousand year old definition of marriage. I'm opposed to having a brother & a sister being together and calling that marriage. I'm opposed to an older guy marring a child and calling that a marriage. I'm opposed to one guy having multiple wives and calling that marriage."

STEVEN WALDMAN: "Do you think those are equivalent to gays getting married?"

RICK WARREN: "Oh, I do! For five thousand years marriage has been defined by every single culture and every single religion...this is not a Christian issue—Buddhists, Muslims, Jews. Historically, Marriage is a man and a woman, so I'm opposed to that.

"And the reason I supported Prop. 8 really was a free speech issue, because if...first, the court over-read the will of the people, but second, there were all kinds of threats that if it did not pass, any pastor could be considered doing hate speech if he shared his views that he didn't think homosexuality was the most natural way for relationships. And that would be hate speech. Well, to me, we should have freedom of speech, ok...Can we do this in a civil way?

"I have many gay friends. I've eaten dinner in gay homes. No church has probably done more for people with AIDS than Sattleback Church. Kay and I have given millions of dollars out of the portraiture of people getting AIDS through gay relationships, so they can't accuse me of homophobia. I just don't believe in the redefinition of marriage."

(S. Waldman, "Rick Warren Interview: On Gay Marriage & Divorce,"
Beliefnet.com Interviews Rick Warren | The Rick Warren Interview,
Retrieved on December 22, 2008 at 11:20AM.)

Like I've written already, I find this rhetoric appalling, shocking and disgraceful!! Funny though, how Pastor Warren speaks as though this is a global, worldly issue by including Buddhists, Muslims & Jews in his argument for Traditional Marriage, when "historically" speaking, many world religions have once (or still do) give credence and legitimacy to incestuous, polygamist, pedophile relationships between men and women; thus, invalidating his entire overture right from the start.

After seeing this video interview, I realize ever more so that I am extremely disappointed and angry with Obama's pick for his inaugural invocation. Giving such a significant role in such a major event in our Nation's history to a man who blatantly and guiltlessly promotes hate-speech and homophobia (YES! HOMOPHOBIA, Rick Warren! I'd call him a homophobe, wouldn't you?) is a bold, shameless affront to all the just and fair-minded equality activists that supported Barack Obama's Campaign for President.

I am personally offended and ultimately very disappointed that I have put so much faith in Barack Obama as a proponent of Change and as a stalwart advocate for equality, only to be let down by his choice here.

I wrote in an entry in this blog, entitled "Rev. Rick Warren: An Anti-Gay Invocation," that I could understand Obama's choice of Pastor Rick Warren to deliver the invocation at his inauguration, because, as the President-elect himself argues, he has been trying to promote a dialogue between conflicting political and social camps by bringing together a diverse array of people to participate in this monumental occasion. He says that is what his campaign was all about, and I agreed with him, wholeheartedly!

But, as a gay man who dreams one day of escaping the aesthetic judgments and prejudices of the average homosexual, passing beyond my disfigurement and finding a relationship with a man that can develop openly, honestly and lovingly into a committed union: a Marriage, I can not and will not support Barack Obama's choice to have Rick Warren, a bigoted & hate-mongering Evangelical, give the opening invocation at the 2009 Presidential Inauguration. It's just not right!

As Kathryn Kolbert remarks in her CNN.com Politics Commentary:

There is no shortage of religioius leaders who reflect the values on which President-elect Obama campaigned and who are working to advance the common good: Rev. Joseph Lewery, who has been selected to give the benediction, is a life-long advocate for justice. There are others like him, and in our increasingly diverse nation, they aren't all Christian.

Rick Warren gets plenty of attention through his books & media appearances and has every right to promote his religious views. But he doesn't need or deserve a position of honor at the inauguration of a President who has given hope to so many Americans by rejecting the politics of division and emphasizing his commitment to constitutional values.

(K. Kolbert, "Commentary: Choosing Rick Warren was a Mistake,"
CNN.com Politics, December 19, 2008 at 9:41AM.
Retrieved on December 22, 2008 at 7:04AM.)

Mrs. Kolbert is right in her conclusions: there are plenty of other American religious leaders that uphold the values that Barack Obama fought for in his Campaign for President and that he could have just as well chosen for the invocation. The socio-political implications of the choice of Rick Warren to give the invocation at the 2009 Presidential Inauguration are grave and divisive, opening the door to so many other arguments against an Obama Presidency, because of Rick Warren's other illicit values concerning as such a women's right to chose, amongst other things (as explained in the Kolbert Commentary).

I in no way can consider myself an allegiant equality activist, for I have had no frontline experience fighting for Marriage Equality and other equal rights for all under the law. I have only begun to voice my opinion on this blog and on comments I've posted to other blogs or news feeds I've read concerning these issues.

I've also associated myself via Facebook™ with ENGAGE to End Discrimination: The Marriage Equality Project, a fledgling, soon to be incorporated nonprofit organization based out of San Francisco, CA and founded by my Facebook™ Friend, Michael Friedman. I haven't been active in their Marriage Equality rallies & protests, but I have subscribed to their RSS feed on Blogger® and Google™ Reader and stay informed of developments within the organization by those means. I can't say that I am an allegiant equality activist, no! But, I can't say that, as a gay man living in California, I am just as equally disappointed and angered by Obama's choice as the best of them. In fact, ...

I can't stand this! I'm irate! Aren't you? Please, give me some feedback! Let me know if I'm letting my easily affected emotions become unhinged by something of little importance; or otherwise, affirm my disappointment & anger and join me in opposing this choice. I eagerly anticipate any feedback or thoughts I receive from my blog followers. This is a dialogue I'd very much like to have; if not, just to calm my nerve!

Maybe the choice of Inauguration Invocation Speaker should have followed more of the effect of decisions on Commencement Speakers for the College of William & Mary (speaking from experience), where candidates are selected based on writing samples and formal public speaking skills, as opposed to on popularity or stature within a particular community. What on Earth is Barack Obama trying to evoke with this choice? I can't find any good in it! Please help!

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In closing, I must say: Peace Out! And Plenitudes of Pumpernickel & Plum-Pudding Pastries, as well as Cheer, Bliss & Merriment for you this Holiday Season! May you all experience the joy of giving & gratitude and the blessings of good tidings this wintry season. I know that I am grateful to have so many dear friends and family who care so deeply for me. And I'm thankful for the ungodly AWESOME gift that my William & Mary Theatre Assoc. friends purchased for me for Christmas—as some sort of recompense for all the tragedy I have experienced in the last year & a half. I'm eternally grateful to you all. You know who you are! :-) Happy Holidays!!