National Day Of Prayer...Multi-Miraculous Or What?

Miracle #2 In Progress As I Type

Published on September 18, 2005 By kingbee In Politics

i very clearly remember the first time george bush proclaimed a national day of prayer.

it was also in september, just a few days after those planes smashed into the towers, the pentagon and a wooded area in pennsylvania.

prior to reading the official proclamation document and then hearing bush's address at the episcopal national cathedral, i disliked him both as a man and as president. by dislike, i mean exactly that. no less; no more. i didn't focus much effort or energy on him. if anything i saw him mostly as a source of quirky perverse amusement--one we really couldn't afford, but were stuck with for a couple more years.

his proclamation pushed dislike all the way to deplore; his address transformed deplore, converting it to despise.

so it was on thursday the very last thing i coulda envisioned myself doing today woulda been expressing any measure of approval for the message he delivered friday...the national day of prayer he proclaimed in response to the horrors of katrina.

Miracle #1

the thing about miracles is they always seem to manifest themselves to those who most want them to occur and are most eagerly willing to be convinced. that's where i am now. i truly wanna believe my president meant this exactly. no less; no more:

"The greatest hardship fell upon citizens already facing lives of struggle: the elderly, the vulnerable and the poor. And this poverty has roots in generations of segregation and discrimination that closed many doors of opportunity. As we clear away the debris of a hurricane, let us also clear away the legacy of inequality."

i doubt i really need to mention how amazed i was to read that this morning.

Miracle #3

i'm willing to give bush the benefit of the doubt.

(it's gonna be obvious if he tries to backpedal or wiggle outta that statement...or his commitment. i'm so hoping he wont. THAT should be more than enough to balance my wariness and prevent it from diminishing that last miracle in any way.)

Comments (Page 1)

bakerstreet

on Sep 18, 2005

" i truly wanna believe my president meant this exactly. no less; no more:"

Me too. Not in the sense that I want him to cater to race-baiting and all the rest, but that he would put the interests of the nation as a whole above the interests of his 'close supporters.' Too much to ask, if you ask me.

Right, left, whatever, they are all politicians, and they all get there by making deals NOT to do what they should. In my opinion the only difference between the right and the left is the Right makes no bones about working from the "top down", whereas the Left has to please the top while pretending to focus on the bottom.

I don't expect anything more from him than any other politician. I think he needs to keep the nation as healthy as it benefits him and those he makes closed-door promises to. I think the problem with many people is they think politicians exist that function at a higher level.

Daiwa

on Sep 18, 2005

Besides, a National Day of Prayer is clearly unconstitutional.

Cheers,
Daiwa

ParaTed2k

on Sep 18, 2005

Agreed Kingbee. The debris of prejudice and institutionzied bigotry from both sides needs to be cleared away. Both the prejudice and apathy that enables a person to discriminate against an entire race or class of people and the same that enables a person to look upon a race or class and excuse them from all responsibility in life.

In the end, if a race or class of people are prevented from the opportunity to realize their potential, does it really matter whether they were held back my laws which fail to protect their rights, or laws which absolve them of them of the responsibilities that go with those rights?

Which is more offensive, being told you can't, or being told you shouldn't have to? Isn't both statements saying the same thing? That you're not as good as everyone else?

ParaTed2k

on Sep 18, 2005

Daiwa:

Besides, a National Day of Prayer is clearly unconstitutional.

The only way a "National Day of Prayer" would break the requirements of the 1st Amendment would be for the government to require everyone to pray. No part of the 1st Amendment states that the opportunity can't be offered.

Unless you can show that someone had governmental action taken against them for failure to comply... no one's rights were violated.

kingbee

on Sep 18, 2005

In my opinion the only difference between the right and the left is the Right makes no bones about working from the "top down", whereas the Left has to please the top while pretending to focus on the bottom.

your response sparked yet another possibility here. check it out, you concluded by observing:

. I think the problem with many people is they think politicians exist that function at a higher level.

when you get a fix on something, you do it far more precisely than most. this time you may have outdone yourself. i'll cop to it because there's no way i can deny doing exactly that. i'm pretty sure i know why i do it cuz it came to me nearly as quickly as 'hand hurts when hit by hammer' (but i'm not gonna get into that right now...it's a topic that deserves its own discussion).

it's a bit humbling to have to also admit i've done it for a long time, i'm doing it now and will prolly continue until i forget my name even though the result is inevitably disappointment, rage and pain.

maybe...that's the difference between the right and left? the right don't expect, at best, its candidates/leaders to to achieve the higher functioning level you mention; the left don't expect anything less?

dabe

on Sep 18, 2005

maybe...that's the difference between the right and left? the right don't expect, at best, its candidates/leaders to to achieve the higher functioning level you mention; the left don't expect anything less?

Now this is clearly quotable, if I may, Kingbee. I'd definitely cite you.

"The right don't expect anything.
The left don't expect anything less."

Of course, you'd have to define "less". I would define "less" as the bar with which you'd measure the success of government (in this case). Therefore, the right don't expect any success, whereas the left don't expect anything less than success. No wonder the right is complacent, and the left is continually disappointed.

kingbee

on Sep 18, 2005

The inequality lies in the results of that opportunity, not the lack of it.

If two people are given an identical opportunity, and one has piss-poor results, whose fault is that?

jeez, for once bush says something with which i can agree and yall are still jumping all over me even tho i purposely took the high road and didn't even suggest it might be more than a coincidence cheney and turdblossom weren't sittin close by making a big deal outta the fact they were drinking down huge glasses of water everytime george was talking.

a couple weeks ago, hbo broadcst a performance by a black comedian who calls himself earthquake. at one point, this cat said he wished bush could remain in office for 30 more years cuz it was such an incredible rush for earthquake to be able to point to the tv and say, 'I'M smarter than that white man...and not only that, HE'S the PRESIDENT.'

ju's own joeknowledge may no longer be able to say he's smarter than bush (joe has been very patiently trying to help you see what the president has finally conceded) but there are still more than a few of yall that seem unable to get it.

the legal structure so carefully designed and built to dehumanize black people in america has finally--but only very recently--dismantled, but several hundred years of brutal victimization has consequences that cannot be undone by a stroke of the pen. you can proclaim winter officially over on or about march 20th next year. you'll be 100% correct based on the method by which such things are determined. although it might be worth the price of a flight to richmond to see you walkin around out of doors for the rest of the month dressed in your best spring clothing...especially if i arrived with the next snowstorm cuz then i could enjoy the spectacle of you commanding the snow to go away....i don't imagine you'd cooperate.

you know it's gonna take time for winter to fade into the past. imagine how much longer it would take for spring to finally show up after a winter that lasted 100 years.

kingbee

on Sep 18, 2005

enables a person to look upon a race or class and excuse them from all responsibility in life

can you please provide me with a verified statement calling for such nonsense attributable to anyone with any influence, capacity, position, intention or ambition to occupy the same?

it's a great myth. one that requires a distrurbingly significant vestige of racial hate to accept without evidence.

kingbee

on Sep 18, 2005

Which is more offensive, being told you can't, or being told you shouldn't have to? Isn't both statements saying the same thing? That you're not as good as everyone else?

neither is defensible. only one has really happened. the other is a distraction used to explain away something too many people wish they could deny. sorta like those germans who lived down the road from the death camps who musta woke up every day and didn't have to be told what made the air smell so horrible. whattaya spect when you get that many jews in one place?

Daiwa

on Sep 18, 2005

Daiwa:
Besides, a National Day of Prayer is clearly unconstitutional.

The only way a "National Day of Prayer" would break the requirements of the 1st Amendment would be for the government to require everyone to pray. No part of the 1st Amendment states that the opportunity can't be offered.

Unless you can show that someone had governmental action taken against them for failure to comply... no one's rights were violated.

You missed my sarcasm, Ted. I'm just surprised a Newdow-type hasn't popped up (yet) to decry it.

'Cause when you think about it, for the government to declare an official National Day of Prayer seems to cross the line as much as anything & everything else the left moans about when it comes to separation of church & state. How is that different than allowing a creche on city property during December? No one is required to go downtown & look at it, so noone's rights are violated there, either.

Cheers,
Daiwa

kingbee

on Sep 18, 2005

Unless you can show that someone had governmental action taken against them for failure to comply... no one's rights were violated

i might be wayyyyy off here, but i'm guessin daiwa cab't restrain himself when presented with such a huge and obvious opportunity. i know i couldnt have done it no matter how much effort i expended.

kingbee

on Sep 18, 2005

You missed my sarcasm, Ted

yikes.

even tho it appears as if i waited til daiwa provided an explanation, i assure yall i not only have ups...i'm a certified psychotic.

kingbee

on Sep 18, 2005

Of course, you'd have to define "less". I would define "less" as the bar with which you'd measure the success of government (in this case). Therefore, the right don't expect any success, whereas the left don't expect anything less than success. No wonder the right is complacent, and the left is continually disappointed.

to keep it in context, remember bakerstreet's statement had to do with politiicians and more specifically politiians on either side. he claims (quite correctly) all politiicians make compromises and then goes on to suggest that the public expects politicians to live up to impossible images.

it's not about success so much as it is idealism vs reality i guess. we all want a leader or representative or hell even a clerk of a local county office who can deliver the stuff we want and expect.

conservatives are less willing to accept the possibility it might happen someday hahahaha.

the left is less willing to consider the possibility that it aint gonna happen cuz getting elected dont confer any special qualities and, in fact, diminishes those one already possesses.

ParaTed2k

on Sep 18, 2005

neither is defensible. only one has really happened.

Bullcrap! Go into the projects sometime and see how few men are there with their families. Talk to the women in the apartment, ask them where the men who helped make the babies are... after the blank look, the answer will most often (but not always) be something like.. "why should he have to hang around?". Bill Cosby's contraversial remarks, "The Promise Keepers".. etc are all the result of generations of poor people whose subculture is based on "we shouldn't have to".

Bring up the concept of working for welfare benefits... there are many who are willing, but the system itself says, "They shouldn't have to..." Bring up the concept of going to night school after a full day's work if a person wants to improve their chances of a better life... "they/we shouldn't have to..." Bring up the concept of expecting students to get 90%-100% without cheating if they want an "A" and the answer all too often comes back... "They/we shouldn't have to..."

Sorry to disappoint you Kingbee, but one of the biggest flaws in our system is that far too many people have allowed their potential to be ripped from their grasp because some fool taught them that can't reach that potential. Why? Because they aren't as good as everyone else and "they shouldn't have to".

kingbee

on Sep 18, 2005

see how few men are there with their families

that didn't come about because of anyone advocating black men need not be responsible. for years it was against the law for families with fathers to collect any kinda assistance. there was no sensible reason for such a stupid policy. it came into being thanks to the efforts of two factions. those who were determined to make the process as dehumanizing and unpleasant as possible, joined by those determined to reduce black men to the equivalent of living ghosts...of no value to anyone including themselves.

you think ralph ellison just fantasized the invisible man? what do you think inspired otis rush to write 'i cant quit you'?

that was the deliberate and intentional point of every jim crow law in the south, of every unwritten policy and not-so-thinly disguised discourtesy perpetrated throughout this country for a solid 100 years.

i'm not gonna say that bush was finally right about something but i will say that he was really damn close to exactly right with that statement on friday.

don't spend too much time lookin for the evidence i asked for. it dont exist.

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