I'm just beside myself.

Last night I was deeply disturbed and saddened when I learned about all of this Rick Warren inaugural invocation business.  (Sigh)  After many teary hours of very careful consideration regarding this matter, I am still totally disheartened.  Now, I am in no way over looking the choice of Reverend Joseph Lowery - who is a pioneer of civil rights as well as being a unilaterally unifying figure, I am just baffled at the inclusion of someone who is so absolutely polarizing and derisive.  Rick Warren goes many steps beyond merely being opposed to gay marriage, which is what he is being pointed at for initially.  His offenses towards innumerable groups of people just go on and on and on.  It is one thing to be inclusive and bridge divides, have differences of opinion, but it is another thing entirely to invite a hate monger.  And yes, Rick, I am calling you a hate monger.  Calling for the assassinations of world leaders - however bad they be, is not Christian, it's hateful. Lumping together pedophilia, incest and beastiality within the context of the gay marriage issue is hateful.  Providing Only abstinence-only based sex education to regions torn apart by an AIDS crisis is hateful.  Comparing abortion to the holocaust suffered by Jews during WWII is hateful.  

I think the last thing we need in this world is more hate.

Thanks but no thanks for that bridge to nowhere.