Call it naivete or nostalgia or even nonsense, but my childhood was spent praying for our nation’s leadership, regardless of political party.
Sure, there was backroom backbiting about what “Those Yahoos in Washington” were doing during the daytime, but at night? Before our heads hit our beds, folks of my faith tradition prayed for our leadership, no matter which Yahoo was in power.
We prayed for wisdom. We prayed for discernment. And, when we disagreed with The Yahoo Du Jour, we prayed that their heart be changed or softened or opened to our viewpoint. We prayed, at the very least, that they did no harm, that no harm would come to them, and that goodness would win the day.
Yes, call it naivete or nostalgia or even nonsense, but my childhood and young adulthood were spent praying for Reagan, Bush 1, Clinton, and Bush 2. Not because I or my parents or my faith leaders or friends necessarily voted for any of those people or even agreed with their policies, but because we realized something that seems to be sorely lacking in our current, fractured discourse:
As Americans, we should want America to do well. Always.
While we disagreed – perhaps even passionately – on the particulars of the best ways for America to “do well,” the prevailing hopes of the population, regardless of party or religious (or not) affiliation, was that the USA would thrive. That we’d have a booming economy, quality education and healthcare, be at the forefront of medical research, have robust infrastructure, safe streets…
We wanted those things, hoped for those things, prayed for those things, regardless of which Yahoo was steering America’s ship at the time. Crucially, even if we thought said Yahoo’s policies would lead us off course, we still all came together to hope God or The Fates or sheer, dumb luck provided him with a map and some good navigators.
Collectively, we hoped and prayed for the good of the vessel (even, and perhaps especially, if we didn’t trust the man at the helm) because, we knew that, while presidents and administrations come and go, the United States must remain.
Even the most bitter among us didn’t endorse the sinking of the ship just because we thought its current captain was a Class A, Bonafide Yahoo.
But somewhere along the line, that changed.
Somewhere, with the influx of partisan news, and rage bait, and social media distortion, and algorithmic cognitive bubbles, we lost the “Keep the ship afloat; we sink or swim together” mentality that pervaded my childhood and early adulthood.
Somewhere in the voyage, we stopped praying for wisdom and discernment and changed hearts and no harm. We stopped hoping for a map and good navigators.
Somewhere in the voyage, we stopped calling out for a well-placed lighthouse or Deus Ex Machina to Save Our Ship, and starting actively hoping the captain’s policies would end in disaster just to prove that we/our “team” were “right” and “righteous” and they were “wrong” and “repugnant.”
Somewhere in the voyage, we inexplicably decided that it’s better to run aground – even if it means we’re all battered by the rocks and lost in the wreckage – than to hope the USA has smooth sailing despite the Yahoo status of its captain.
As if using our last breath to choke out, “See! I told you this guy was a Yahoo!,” before the tumultuous sea drags us to our demise is some sort of victory.
In truth, that kind of self-sabotage strikes me as a Class A, Bonafide Yahoo move.
There are currently many among you who think the fella at the helm today is a real Yahoo. And you have your reasons. Other readers would say the previous fella was. And they have theirs.
But I am here to remind you that there was a time when all of us rallied to America’s S.O.S. There was a time when we’d bow our heads (or scream into our pillows) that, while The Universe saw fit to saddle us with a Yahoo, that we hoped that Yahoo would inexplicably stumble headfirst into wisdom. That discernment would fall on his stupid head like a pile of bricks. That, Seussically, his two-sizes-too-small heart would grow at least three sizes. That the lighthouse or the Deus Ex Machina would ensure he does no harm, and that no harm comes to him, and that good wins the day.
Good must win the day.
The United States must remain.
And that starts in our hearts.
If you’re having trouble deciding where and how to begin, here is an excerpt from a prayer for our country, prayed by my faith congregation this week:
“Our God and God of our ancestors, we invoke Your blessing upon our country, on the government and leaders of our nation, and on all who exercise rightful authority in our community. Instruct them…that they may administer all affairs of State in justice and equity. May peace and security, happiness and prosperity, right and freedom forever abide among us.
Unite the inhabitants of our country, of all backgrounds and creeds, into a bond of true kinship, to banish hatred and bigotry, and to safeguard our ideals and institutions of freedom.
May this land…be an influence for good throughout the world.”
Note: This is an opinion article as designated by the the category placement on this website. It is not news coverage. If this disclaimer is funny to you, it isn’t aimed at you — but some of your friends and neighbors honestly have trouble telling the difference.
