Keep in mind that Australia is also very much a part of Asia. The woman who sits next to me is Indonesian. Everyday with excitement and great anticipation, she asks me how Obama is doing. She says Indonesia loves him - this, the world's largest Muslim nation, and Australia's closest neighbor. Not only does she think that Obama would be good for America, but she's convinced that Obama will be very good for her country. She very much hopes that Obama will one day visit Indonesia and address them in their tongue. What better way to win favour with the Muslim world than elect as our leader someone who can so easily bridge such a troublesome cultural and political divide.

It was because of these newfound understandings—that religious commitment did not require me to suspend critical thinking, disengage from the battle for economic and social justice, or otherwise retreat from the world that I knew and loved—that I was finally able to walk down the aisle of Trinity United Church of Christ one day and be baptized.