If you are like me sometimes the items in the ‘good intentions’ column do not always get accomplished each day. Praying for the country is a good thing, but I don’t always remember to do it. That’s why I like the National Day of Prayer (NDOP)—It’s good to have a day put on the calendar to remind me of this important topic for my prayer time. That’s why it reminds me of Mother’s Day—I know that I should be appreciative of my mom every day of the year; the problem is it doesn’t always happen. Setting aside the second Sunday in May is a good reminder for me—and my mom doesn’t seem to mind the holiday either.
This year the NDOP received some extra attention. In April, U.S. District Judge Barbara Crabb ruled that the NDOP was unconstitutional. This set off a rash of responses.
President Obama‘s administration is appealing the ruling, wanting to keep the traditional practice in place. This caused some confusion by the Reactionary Religious Right (RRR).
“Wait a minute! I thought you were against the NDOP,” said the RRR.
“Nope, I’m urging our citizens to “pray, or otherwise give thanks” for our nation’s freedom and blessings.” The president responded.
“But last year you ignored the NDOP and didn’t come to our gathering.”
“No, you misunderstood me. I recognized the day last year, I even prayed. I just chose not to pray with you at your event.”
“Oh…”
Judge Crabb received some constructive emails from maddened religious people around the country. Matthew Rothschild, a reporter from Isthmus: The Daily Page went to the judge’s office to read some of them:
- “Judge Crabb needs to be removed from her position,” wrote Bob Ferguson by e-mail. “She is a stupid bitch.”
- Al Kafer of Cleveland, who described himself as a “70-year-old Vietnam vet,” addressed her as “Babs” and wrote: “We could give a damn what some INTELLECTUAL PYGMY in a skirt in cheeseland says.” And he added a P.S.: “We are no longer taking your shit anymore.”
- “You mam [sic] are a disgrace to America,” wrote Michael Yeager. “Only an Anti-Christ individual would deny a national day of prayer. . . . Basically, you have committed treason against God who established our nation.”
- John in Texas wrote: “I will be praying God removes her from office.”
- “Can you imagine what it will be like to live forever in Hell?” wrote David Lee. “We have had enough of the Obamas of this world, and we plan on stopping them as we will also you.”
- One anonymous letter, addressed “To the Dishonorable Barbara Crabb,” said: “You Barbie are a disgrace to this country just as Obama is. . . . Enjoy Hell, you will be there soon. I pray for your kids.”
Okay, maybe not so constructive.
Yesterday I decided to read parts of her ruling. Here are a couple of key points:
- Crabb said the law creating the tradition being observed Thursday is an unconstitutional call to religious action.
- Crabb found Congress violated the First Amendment by passing a law directing the president to encourage citizens to pray, and said the law amounted to a government endorsement of a religious exercise. She emphasized that her conclusion was not a judgment “on the value of prayer or the millions of Americans who believe in its power.”
- Crabb said the government can no more encourage citizens to pray than to “fast during the month of Ramadan, attend a synagogue, purify themselves in a sweat lodge or practice rune magic.”
- “In fact, it is because the nature of prayer is so personal and can have such a powerful effect on a community that the government may not use its authority to try to influence an individual’s decision on whether and when to pray,” she wrote.
I don’t know, but she doesn’t sound like a intellectual pygmy in a skirt in Cheesland to me. Her ruling actually sounded pretty reasonable.
At issue is the constitutional right for religion, the right of free speech, and the need to separate church and state. President Obama is trying to walk a fine line seen with his choice of words in the proclamations. This year he called prayer, “a sustaining way for many Americans of diverse faiths to express their most cherished beliefs.”
Walking the middle ground doesn’t appease the Freedom from Religion Foundation, who don’t want any religion, nor does it make those RRR folks very happy either, because they want it to be blatantly Christian.
Also at issue in the lawsuit is the financial costs that are incurred by these proclamations and government organized events. We probably should be footing the bill for these religious-based events and not have the government paying for them. Perhaps this could help solve some of the issue.
Bottom line for me, I like the NDOP and expect it to stay on the calendar and be celebrated in some manner. Even if it wasn’t, we’d still pray for our country—maybe even more! I don’t need the government to recognize the NDOP or make a proclamation to validate its importance and significance.
Maybe more important to me is this: I think we trip over our own feet by battling the people we are trying to reach for Jesus—maybe this is something we should put on the calendar to pray about.
How about you? What importance do you place on the government’s recognition of the NDOP?
