The3rddegree’s Blog

Conservatives are up in arms about a new report from the Department of Homeland Security on right-wing extremism. One is even suing over it. Those who say that this report represents the persecution of run of the mill conservative Republicans are have apparently forgotten that right wing extremism has already proven itself dangerous. Fourteen years ago, right-wing extremists bombed a federal office building in my hometown, Oklahoma City. The anniversary was just yesterday. I will not forget.

I am extremely grateful that the government is investigating and pursuing all extremist terrorist groups, whether they are left wing or right wing and whether they are foreign or domestic.

I’ll admit that I started to feel a little self-conscious about the last post. Maybe the “faggot Christ” image and commentary was a little melodramatic. I mean, people are really starting to accept us queer folks, right? Things are changing! We can even get married in a few places! We’ve got a gay bishop in the Episcopal Church! Ellen is the hottest daytime talk show host since Oprah!

And then I read this crazy story about Amazon.com censoring LGBT-themed books by placing them in a special “adult section.” What the hell? I really didn’t see that coming. Amazon?? In 2009?? And then I thought, “Wow. People really do still hate us, despite it all.” And not just a few snake-handling country rubes. This is America’s biggest bookseller. I guess I’m not crazy for feeling persecuted even in 2009.

Apparently Amazon is “correcting the error,” but hasn’t exactly apologized. Hard to know what to make of it.

This painting is part of a series of holy week depictions from a queer perspective. Although we have no reliable historical facts about Jesus – or indeed certainty about whether such a person actually lived – I continue to find so much in the story to be powerful and resonant. Theologian James Cone wrote of the Black Christ, arguing that the crucified Christ stands with the oppressed and that in our time and place, that means African Americans. I believe that this Queer Christ painting is an extension of Cone’s claim. Although things are getting better (see previous two posts), we LGBT folks remain among the most hated and oppressed people in this country.

Of course people would call Jesus a faggot if the story took place today. That is the most common word used today to degrade and belittle men – whether or not they are even gay. And a lot of the people calling themselves “Christians” would likely be among those shouting the loudest at this man who in the Gospels displays strong pacifist, socialist, and anti-authoritarian tendencies. And, in fact, in the Gospel of John, he seems even to have had a same-sex lover, referred to only as “the beloved disciple.”

Let Good Friday remind us to stand with the crucified among us today.

Boom boom! So the big Vermont news has come just four days after Iowa. This is really starting to feel like… dare I say it?… momentum!

Obviously, there are 46 other states without same-sex marriage rights…most notably California, where they were snatched away. And yet I have to say that these two events back to back feels like a huge victory. Iowa represents the same-sex marriage movement’s arrival in the Midwest and Vermont represents the movement’s first legislative victory, which takes from our opponents the opportunity to finger point at so-called “activist judges.”

Even just having four lousy states with same-sex marriage rights seems quite remarkable to me. As a young(er) adult, I never imagined even this much progress would be possible. Back in the 90s, the top issues were employment non-discrimination, the right to serve in the military, adoption rights, hate crimes protections, and all sorts of other things. Same-sex marriage really emerged in the national discussion with a favorable Hawaii Supreme Court ruling in 1993. And at the time, I remember thinking the issue seemed kind of pie in the sky.

And even when Vermont first passed a civil unions bill in 2000, I remember being amazed at the progress. And the crazy thing is how much progress we experienced in social attitudes even in the midst of the Bush administration. Jim Wallis said “Hope is believing despite the evidence and then watching the evidence change.” Exactly.

There are many hurdles and opportunities ahead. So many states, especially in New England, are poised to take up the issue yet. We’re still waiting to hear something from the California Supreme Court on Proposition 8. And eventually, the Supreme Court will take up the issue and who knows what they’ll do?

In the meantime, I’m savoring the fact that we’ve doubled the number of states offering same-sex marriage within four days. Wow!

I’m a social worker today. And I believe that those of us in my current profession can expect relative job security in the future. But these days so much is changing that that may be presumptuous. Who ever thought we’d see the decline of Wall Street or the domestic auto industry? My previous two professions were both dedicated to institutions that appear to be fading away.

First, I was a newspaper reporter. Here in Chicago, both of our major daily newspapers are now in bankruptcy protection and similar stories have been coming out coast to coast. Next, I went to seminary. Although I eventually withdrew from the ordination process in the United Church of Christ, I dedicated several years of my life to the pursuit of a church calling. According to a new report recently released by the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life, affiliation organized religion has dramatically declined over the past 20 years, most especially in the Mainline Protestant bodies such as the UCC. Overall, those who described themselves as Protestant declined from about 65 percent of the U.S. population in the early 90s to about 50 percent today. Those who described themselves as “unaffiliated” with any religion have grown from about 5 percent to 16 percent in that same time.

While these sorts of changes can be unsettling, I am expecting that new institutions will rise where others fall. Change is actually a constant. Change is the defining feature of history itself. A democratic society cannot function without journalists, but perhaps it can survive without print journalism as we know it. We must trust that as one institution dies, something else will rise to take its place. In this case, we are obviously looking to the Internet. Unfortunately, no one has yet developed a business model to really make local journalism profitable online, however. Perhaps it will require more infusion of foundation money into journalism, as seen in this week’s announcement of the launch of a new non-profit reporting venture being launched by the Huffington Post in partnership with private partners.

Similarly, organized religion serves many useful purposes to society’s functioning. If some of the familiar forms of organized religion die, I am guessing that people will continue to find new ways of forming community, ritually marking life passages, and finding spirituality and meaning in their lives. And those traditions that don’t die may radically transform.

With all of these questions, I am very eager to see what happens next.