Bless us with freedom from mere tolerance

At the Lincoln Memorial yesterday, openly gay Episcopal Bishop Gene Robinson delivered a "prayer for our nation and for our next president" [text] that was as radical as any I've ever heard at a public occasion. Calling on a "God of our many understandings" he launched into an unlikely list of blessings: tears, anger, discomfort and -- my favorite -- "freedom from mere tolerance," which seemed to strike at the heart of so much bigotry, especially of the variety that gay people experience. Remember when Sarah Palin, during the v.p. debate, insisted that gays should be "tolerated," as if that was the best that we should expect from our leaders? The video of Robinson's speech is currently on YouTube; catch it now before HBO takes it down.*

Also infusing the pre-Inauguration event with activist fervor was the legendary folk singer Pete Seeger, whose joyous rendition of This Land is Your Land, with Bruce Springsteen at his side, included a timely verse about the ills of private property:

There was a big high wall there that tried to stop me;

Sign was painted, it said private property;

But on the back side it didn't say nothing;

That side was made for you and me.

After a long campaign, and these many months where Barack Obama has had to continually remind us that there's "only one president at a time," I couldn't be more ready for tomorrow.

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* UPDATE: Towleroad reports that Robinson's invocation -- already being dubbed "controversial" because of its inclusiveness -- was not shown by HBO, based on a decision by the Obama Inauguration Team to have Robinson speak as part of the pre-show before the president-elect even took the stage. So was Robinson's inclusion, in the end, a kind of "mere tolerance" on the part of the new administration? After Elton is following the story.

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* UPDATE 2: Robinson's moment to be included HBO's rebroadcast of the event [After Elton].