I’m in encouraging-Obama mood for some reason this week.
I think people ought to leave Rick Warren alone about this abortion stuff. Yeah, Obama is bad on abortion. And yeah, Rick Warren is good on abortion. And, yes, abortion is a very important topic for civilization. But Rick Warren is trying to get people in the same room talking and working together to fight AIDs. Progress isn’t going to happen if Rick Warren types have their own AIDs conferences and Bill Clinton types have their own AIDs conferences somewhere else and never get together and work together.
Leave Rick Warren alone, I say. The man gets headlines, gets people paying attention, and he gets it — the main message in Africa ought to be fidelity. Behaviors need to change. As I noted in my syndicated column a few months back:
[Warren] talks about “transformation”: “That involves saving sex for marriage, training men to respect women, offering treatment through churches, and encouraging individuals to pledge themselves to one partner.” And while this is an old-school teaching, it also has the potential to be revolutionary. Whether you’re a Kenyan or a Bostonian, that’s how real change happens.
So maybe he can talk some sense into some people who don’t get it. And maybe Barack Obama could ultimately do a world of good. I have no idea on that last count especially. But, hell, it’s worth trying. We’re talking about a pandemic and all.