A week when the people spoke.

This was quite a week. 

We saw a public outcry grow to the point that the states of Indiana and Arkansas pulled back legislation and changed wording to make their Religious Freedom Acts more tolerant of all people, and less discriminatory to certain minorities, including the GLBT community.

And that was a good thing.

Oh to be sure, the far right is now circling their wagons and their preachers are spouting off things like they are being persecuted and our faith defiled.  But you would expect such from the morons who inhabit their dark corners of the world.

But something else happened. People from all walks of life, straight, gay, blacks, white, Asian and even Hispanic, as well as business leaders, labor leaders and even the Chamber of Commerce, all got behind the movement to make America more inclusive. That was encouraging. One of the main players in this was Wal-Mart. A corporate giant I seldom side with, but was glad to call my ally in this fight for freedom and stability in our land. It just goes to show you, with compromise, we can all work together for the greater good. I liked this.

What I did not like were the bitter personal attacks that many on the left heaved on individuals who took the opposition’s side; especially the small pizza shop in Indiana who had gone out of business. (I have since learned they have taken half-a million dollars worth of donations and skipped town…so I am not worried about them personally.)  What I do not like are the vile attacks aimed at everyday people.  The governor and his cronies, okay…he’s a nut job and a fool — an elected one at that.  But the baker and pizza maker and the others who took abuse in this are just citizens. True, they were being segregationists, but they did not deserve the hate aimed at them.

It is hate and small-mindedness we are trying to overcome here.  No need pouring fuel on that fire. It just makes it burn hotter.

I thought the quote of the week came from Rick Warren, pastor of the mega church in Orange County, California, who seems to be a calming voice in many a chaotic situation. His quote:

 "Our culture has accepted two huge lies. The first is that if you disagree with someone's lifestyle, you must fear or hate them. The second is that to love someone means you agree with everything they believe or do. Both are nonsense.

You don't have to compromise convictions to be compassionate."

Good words. Reasonable men and women can live by these words. Nobody is trying to get Christians to become gay. That fear is awash in the land of Southern Baptists and bible churches. Far from it. Most gays will tell you, they don’t want those people in their number.  They just want to be able to enjoy life and its liberties here in the United States like any other citizen. Freedom guaranteed under our constitution.

But there were other things that caught my eye this week. I was ashamed to see a group of black churches and black church pastors pulling out of a mainstream protestant denominations, because of the stance the denominations made in supporting the voices against the Religious Freedom movements. Do these black leaders’ bouts of homophobia blot their memory? Do they not remember Selma?  Do they not remember the closed lunch counters?  Do they not remember riding on the back of the busses or entering hotels through the rear door, if at all?  Do they not remember separate but equal?

It is sad that a coalition of black pastors can be so insensitive toward another minority, while forgetting their own race’s struggles.

It is time for America to put this behind us. All of it. Quit passing laws that exclude others. Quite writing legislation that gives one group and takes away from another. We The People have spoken…We the People are all people…regardless of race, creed, color of sexual orientation. We are all Americans.

Dear Christian brothers and sisters, remember this Easter:  Christ is risen…he has risen for all people. Not just Baptists. Not just conservatives. And he despises bigots and hypocrites.