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 6)

bakerstreet

on Sep 21, 2005

"End of discussion.

If you don't like having a separation of church and state, move to Iran."

Sadly for you, there's never an "End of discussion" in a Democracy. Nothing in the Constitution, or the subsequent amendments, is untouchable. If you don't like it, you could find a fascist dictator somewhere that agrees with you and become his Baghdad Bobbi. Otherwise free nations embrace "discussion" and revision.

How does someone who hasn't gotten her way for the last 6 years keep pretending that it's her way or the highway? It should be patently obvious by this time that reality isn't what YOU make it...

dabe

on Sep 21, 2005

In a democracy, if I choose to no longer discuss the relevance of a subject, that is my right. If I feel that separation of church and state is right, good for me, as that is the law of the land. If you think that religion should be infused into government, then you can do what you want to change that, but right now, it's unconstitutional. If you don't like that, then move to Iran.

bakerstreet

on Sep 21, 2005

" In a democracy, if I choose to no longer discuss the relevance of a subject, that is my right."

But, obviously, discussion continues with our without you. It sounded more to me like you were saying that since something is "unconstitutional" there's no point in making a fuss about it. I think you know better, and I KNOW you'll know better in the next few years...

"If you think that religion should be infused into government, then you can do what you want to change that, but right now, it's unconstitutional. If you don't like that, then move to Iran."

That's a contradictory statment. On the one hand you admit that things can be changed, and then you say if people differ with what is unconstitutional they should move away to a nation they CAN'T change.

Dabe says "End of discussion... move to Iran." and "...do what you want to change that". You can't have it both ways. What you really can't stomach is the fact that this nation can change whether you want it to or not.

Like I say, for someone who has lived under a government who has operated totally counter to their beliefs for the last 5 years, you talk big. I have a feeling that the person who is going to have to move away to get their way is you...

dabe

on Sep 21, 2005

have a nice cup of stfu, because I wasn't speaking to you in the first place.

No can do. You weren't speaking to me, but you were quoting me. I completely disagree with you that freedom from religion is not within the constitution. But, you just spin it like you want, and who cares that people have to put up with a government sanctioned god that they don't believe in. I'm talking about a freakin' government sanctioned god here. USA has no business presuming the presence of any god at all. None. Period. It's wrong. No one is telling you you cannot worship whatever god, or in your case devil you may want to worship. But, I refuse and I will fight for the right to not have to put up with your crappola god interpretation or your constitution interpretations, or the declaration of independence, or your uses for milk duds. You can blather on all you want, but whatever you say means squat. Religion in public places, and the Pledge of Allegiance has been ruled by the courts to be unconstitutional. Period. End of discussion.

bakerstreet

on Sep 22, 2005

"You can blather on all you want, but whatever you say means squat. Religion in public places, and the Pledge of Allegiance has been ruled by the courts to be unconstitutional. Period. End of discussion."

Dunno about your kid, by my kid said the pledge with "under God" today. They also have student led prayer at every public school I have ever attended, and my daughter's school has the traditional "Meet at the pole" thing that all schools seem to have these days where students have their own religious meeting. Every high school football game I have ever been to started with a prayer. There are numerous podunk towns in rural America with ten commandments posted the the ACLU will never bother with.

So, frankly, no. No period, no end of discussion, no letting dabe tell us what the Constitution means. All you have in a Democracy is WE'LL SEE.

So, dabe, WE'LL SEE. You might get your way, you might not. The way your political luck has been running, I wouldn't bet on your horse.

kingbee

on Sep 22, 2005

Never worked a day

your abuse of 'dixie' may have unwittingly (such irony!) revealed yet another possible motive for all that bush benevolence.

he was just sorta returning from vacation when all this stuff happened and was thus more conscious of that uniquely common bond with which he's inexorably linked to anyone and everyone else who's never worked a day in his or her life.

Daiwa

on Sep 22, 2005

Arrogance is so integral to liberalism that even kingbee struggles to keep it in check.

Cheers,
Daiwa

drmiler

on Sep 22, 2005

Arrogance is so integral to liberalism that even kingbee struggles to keep it in check.

Cheers,
Daiwa

I've told you before...."Liberalism is a mental disorder"! You have been warned!

kingbee

on Sep 23, 2005

Arrogance is so integral to liberalism that even kingbee struggles to keep it in check

so what's it gonna cost me for one time global rights to the above as an epitaph?

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