I heard Speaker Pelosi say that she has been praying for President Trump. She mentioned it shortly after she took political action to investigate Trump’s Ukraine affair. As a person of faith I understand the idea of praying for others. I pray for people I love and care about. Yet, I had a hard time thinking of a praying for someone who has brought enormous destruction to our democracy, to the rule of law, and the ideals that we hold sacred.
The Speaker, a distinguished seasoned Democratic leader, did not just resort to prayers. She took bold action this week and launched a House inquiry into Trump’s extortion of the newly elected president of the Ukraine, a country invaded/threatened by the ruthless Putin. Trump’s turning the screws on a president of a country dependent on the United States to survive, is of course not the first of Trump’s lawless behavior. Speaker Pelosi clearly understood that this transgression is just one in a long line of Trump’s reckless acts that have become a daily shocking presidency. She decided that the Ukraine affair was the right moment to stand up to Trump, who until this week felt emboldened by the Mueller Report and the unwavering support of Republicans in the House and the Senate. The Speaker called the House inquiry a sad day for our nation.
I kept thinking of her praying for Trump. I asked myself, who are those that we should pray for when I heard on Saturday that Trump delivered once again, an anti-Semitic, racist, misogynist tweet: “Can you imagine if these Do Nothing Democrat Savages, people like Nadler, Schiff, AOC Plus 3, and many more, had a Republican Party who would have done to Obama what the Do Nothings are doing to me. Oh well, maybe next time!”
As Dana Milbank noted in a tweet: “See how Trump does that? More than 200 House Democrats support impeachment, but the ones he singles out as ‘Savages’ are two Jews and four women of color.” And Beto O’Rourke, tweeted: “When he calls 6 members of Congress — all women of color or Jewish — ’savages,’ he wants you to think of them as less than human.” Trump demonstrated again the truism that when a tyrant attacks one category of citizens, he attacks democracy itself. In a blink of an eye all citizens, from the top down, from former Secretary of State to Vice Presidents and all democratic legal institution can become a target with little recourse to justice.
On Sunday night we celebrate Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year. On the eve of this holy day I am still thinking of prayers and politics. On Monday, in the morning service of Rosh Hashanah we will recite a Prayer for Our Country. I offer here an a modified version of this prayer from Mishkan Hanefesh, the Machzor for the Days of Awe.
“God of holiness we hear Your message: Justice, justice you shall pursue.
Let each of us be an advocate for justice, an activist for liberty, a defender of dignity. And let us champion the values that make our nation a haven for the persecuted, a beacon of hope among the nations.
May our actions reflect compassion for all people, within our borders and abroad. May our leaders and officials embody the vision of our founders: to form a more perfect Union.
We pray for courage and conscience as we aim to support our country’s highest values and aspirations.
We are grateful for the rights of Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness that our founders ascribed to You, our Creator.
We pray for their wisdom and moral strength, that we may be guardians of these rights for ourselves and for the sake of all people, now and forever.”
And this is how I draw on my faith tradition to understand that prayer and action are intertwined, the former informs the latter. Communal prayer in the Prayer for Our Country on Rosh Hashanah calls for, and sanctifies political action that upholds and defends American democracy.
Shanah Tovah, Happy New Year, May It Be The Year of the Freedoms We All Cherish.
