A Prayer For America
On the eve of the election, this is my prayer for America.
Some might find this offensive. Some might think it's none of my business, because, after all, I am very happily Canadian, and would not move across the border for any money in the world. I say that when a country's government seems to think they have power to control the world, what should be a national decision becomes the world's business by default. When a country is a superpower, perhaps the superpower, and has the power and weaponry and money to destroy, and takes it upon itself to do so, it damn well is everybody's business on a day when something can be done to stop it.
Do I think any one country (and by this I mean any one government, because all the people of a country are not individually accountable for a moronic government's actions) should hold such power? No, absolutely not. Power corrupts, and absolute power does indeed corrupt absolutely, and what the U.S. holds in its powerful hands is as close to absolute power as any country in the world has ever had. The fact that the height of that power lies in the hands of a brainless idiot scared me four years ago, but now, seeing what he has done over those four years, the possibility of said idiot being re-elected terrifies me even more. How could anyone possibly vote for this man?! I honestly don't get it.
I will confess that I'm not an overwhelming fan of John Kerry. There are others I would've preferred to see in his position, and looked at individually, I have quite a few issues with him as a politician. That being said, when measured against his opponent, he suddenly looks like superman. The man has a brain, which is more than I can say for the idiot he's running against, and occasionally, I'm convinced he's got a heart, too, a thing the idiot and his baby-sitters advisors seem to be sorely lacking.
I will confess, too, that this prayer is not just about politics. 9/11 changed everything, both politically and in other ways. What I have to say about the topic would not be very popular even in the most left-wing circles, so I'll just say this - I am not American, so 9/11 did not affect me in the way it may have affected Americans, but I am a Muslim in North America, and that day, the meaning of being a Muslim in North America changed. I am not from the Middle East. I am not conservatively religious or orthodox in any way. I hate fundamentalism as much as anyone, maybe more, because what fundamentalists have done has altered the way people view my faith. That being said, when war is declared on innocent people halfway across the world from me in a place I have never seen, let alone had any tangible connection to, my heart says, Those are your people that are being killed. Maybe it's irrational. It probably is. But there are people in those countries who did nothing to deserve being bombed. They pray facing Mecca, five times a day, like I do. In this month of Ramadan they are fasting, as I am. Maybe I have more in common with atheist North Americans than I do with those Muslims, but my heart doesn't believe that. I'm not sure why. It's just the way I feel.
So my prayer is this - please, America, make the right choice. Maybe you actually did make the right choice four years ago, and it was stolen from you, but this time, make it clear. I pray for you, and for your freedom, and for civil rights, and for the civil rights of all those who have been stopped at the border and at airports and God only knows where else since 9/11; I pray for the freedom of your children, current or future, and, if I ever have any and if they ever want to move across the border for any reason, for the freedom of my children. And even if you disagree with me, I pray for you anyhow, because in my heart I believe this is important and I believe this is right.
May God grant this prayer for the sake of us all.
Some might find this offensive. Some might think it's none of my business, because, after all, I am very happily Canadian, and would not move across the border for any money in the world. I say that when a country's government seems to think they have power to control the world, what should be a national decision becomes the world's business by default. When a country is a superpower, perhaps the superpower, and has the power and weaponry and money to destroy, and takes it upon itself to do so, it damn well is everybody's business on a day when something can be done to stop it.
Do I think any one country (and by this I mean any one government, because all the people of a country are not individually accountable for a moronic government's actions) should hold such power? No, absolutely not. Power corrupts, and absolute power does indeed corrupt absolutely, and what the U.S. holds in its powerful hands is as close to absolute power as any country in the world has ever had. The fact that the height of that power lies in the hands of a brainless idiot scared me four years ago, but now, seeing what he has done over those four years, the possibility of said idiot being re-elected terrifies me even more. How could anyone possibly vote for this man?! I honestly don't get it.
I will confess that I'm not an overwhelming fan of John Kerry. There are others I would've preferred to see in his position, and looked at individually, I have quite a few issues with him as a politician. That being said, when measured against his opponent, he suddenly looks like superman. The man has a brain, which is more than I can say for the idiot he's running against, and occasionally, I'm convinced he's got a heart, too, a thing the idiot and his baby-sitters advisors seem to be sorely lacking.
I will confess, too, that this prayer is not just about politics. 9/11 changed everything, both politically and in other ways. What I have to say about the topic would not be very popular even in the most left-wing circles, so I'll just say this - I am not American, so 9/11 did not affect me in the way it may have affected Americans, but I am a Muslim in North America, and that day, the meaning of being a Muslim in North America changed. I am not from the Middle East. I am not conservatively religious or orthodox in any way. I hate fundamentalism as much as anyone, maybe more, because what fundamentalists have done has altered the way people view my faith. That being said, when war is declared on innocent people halfway across the world from me in a place I have never seen, let alone had any tangible connection to, my heart says, Those are your people that are being killed. Maybe it's irrational. It probably is. But there are people in those countries who did nothing to deserve being bombed. They pray facing Mecca, five times a day, like I do. In this month of Ramadan they are fasting, as I am. Maybe I have more in common with atheist North Americans than I do with those Muslims, but my heart doesn't believe that. I'm not sure why. It's just the way I feel.
So my prayer is this - please, America, make the right choice. Maybe you actually did make the right choice four years ago, and it was stolen from you, but this time, make it clear. I pray for you, and for your freedom, and for civil rights, and for the civil rights of all those who have been stopped at the border and at airports and God only knows where else since 9/11; I pray for the freedom of your children, current or future, and, if I ever have any and if they ever want to move across the border for any reason, for the freedom of my children. And even if you disagree with me, I pray for you anyhow, because in my heart I believe this is important and I believe this is right.
May God grant this prayer for the sake of us all.