The majority of Americans are Kind. Our political system has been hijacked by a hateful minority who use voter suppression. gerrymandering and endless propaganda and lies to "win" elections. Also the relic of slavery the Electoral College.
I saw this yesterday on Hawk’s post. Sickening, disgusting, wtf! That sheriff cannot get away with “I was just doing my job”. Cuffing and basically molesting a young female child?? 🤬
As I've said before, I don't recognize them anymore. I am their enemy and they hate me as their sibling and daughter and I tell them I love them. I just hate what's going on in the regime of trump I truly do feel sorry for them but they're not listening at all to reason
Thank you, John, for giving me this prayer—to turn the hatred I feel toward trump supporters into compassion and sympathy. I am not there yet, but with God’s Grace, hopefully I will evolve spiritually to where you are. I do not want their hate to poison my own spirit which used to be kind and tolerant.
From Wikipedia: "The War Prayer," a short story or prose poem by Mark Twain (written in 1905 but remained unpublished in his lifetime because his family feared public outcry against it and them), is a scathing indictment of war, and particularly of blind patriotic and religious fervor as motivations for war. The structure of the work is simple: an unnamed country goes to war, and patriotic citizens attend a church service for soldiers who have been called up. The people call upon God to grant them victory and protect their troops. Suddenly, an "aged stranger" appears and announces that he is God's messenger. He explains to them that he is there to speak aloud the second part of their prayer for victory, the part which they have implicitly wished for but have not spoken aloud themselves: the prayer for the suffering and destruction of their enemies. What follows is a grisly depiction of hardships inflicted on war-torn nations by their conquerors. The story ends with the man being condemned as a lunatic, "for there was no sense in what he said."
Sound familiar? All these good “Christians” calling for a war against and the destruction of those who are not like them or are NOT THEM? We speak of peace and love, tolerance and inclusivity, compassion and empathy, mercy and helping to alleviate the suffering of others -- and they snarl, "Let 'em rot" (witness Melania's jacket that said "I really don't care. Do U?") and tell us we're all stupid and crazy.
Though the below was written nearly 2 decades ago, this well could be about our times right now. This piece, "The War Prayer," is one of the most pointed and devastating stories ever told. It was a segment in a longer film, the denouement that was tantamount to a slap across the face to WAKE THE FUCK UP AND UNDERSTAND WHAT YOU'RE REALLY PRAYING FOR, but just that part was released as a short separate film by PBS in the early 80s I think. One of the best and most important things I've ever seen...
TWO PRAYERS TO END THE WAR: ONE UTTERED, ONE NOT
By Marilee Swirczek, 2006
When historians look back at our time and try to determine what went wrong, they may point to our president, who is short on vision and long on hubris. But they will probably conclude that we, the people, simply did not understand what we were doing…
Think before you shout "Amen!" as the president prays for victory. Have you considered what it is you're praying for?
Mark Twain says it better than I. In "The War Prayer," Twain tells about a congregation that prayed during a time of war. "In every breast," he writes, "burned the holy fire of patriotism." The pastor preached "devotion to flag and country" and beseeched God to crush their foe as they achieved nothing less than victory.
Then Twain describes an aged stranger who entered the church with a message from Almighty God: "He has heard the prayer of your shepherd and will grant it if such be your desire after I, His messenger, shall have explained to you its import. For it is like many of the prayers of men, in that it asks for more than he who utters it is aware – except he pause and think."
The stranger said that when men pray one prayer, God in His wisdom hears two: "one uttered, the other not."
Then he put into words the unspoken prayer: "O Lord, help us to tear their soldiers to bloody shreds with our shells; help us to cover their smiling fields with the pale forms of their patriot dead; help us to drown the thunder of the guns with the shrieks of their wounded, writhing in pain.
"Help us to lay waste their humble homes with a hurricane of fire; help us to wring the hearts of their unoffending widows with unavailing grief; help us to turn them out roofless with their little children to wander unfriended the wastes of their desolated land in rags and hunger and thirst, broken in spirit, worn with travail, imploring Thee for the refuge of the grave and denied it.
"Lord, blast their hopes, blight their lives, protract their bitter pilgrimage, make heavy their steps, water their way with their tears, stain the white snow with the blood of their wounded feet! We ask it of Him Who is the Source of Love."
The stranger finished, and the congregation fell silent. "If ye still desire it, speak! The messenger of the Most High waits."
In Ecclesiastes we read that there is "a time to keep silent and a time to speak." It's time to speak. God is listening…
We still can change what seems to be a passage to destruction. We still can edit the history books that our grandchildren's children will read. There is yet time to change our prayer to one of righteousness – if we pause and think – for God hears two prayers in each and every prayer we utter.
Your appeal to MAGA's humanity is truly logical and quite touching. I would love to think that it could work. I would love to "test drive" it on a few people, but I suspect it would not have much of an impact. And I am also ashamed to admit I am almost too scared to try.
I have put together a letter that condenses what John consistently writes. I send them anonymously to the hateful Trumpers I know. I have no idea if they have an impact but, hey, it's worth the cost of a stamp to try.
You are right that cultists do not think independently and that rabid tRumpists are indeed brainwashed into the cult of tRump. That said, what is saddest about that painful, horrible and shattering event -- the mass "suicide" by drinking poisoned Kool-Aid -- is that so many realized, too late, how they had been so terribly misled and how just wrong in the head Jim Jones was. I believe the majority did not willingly drink the Kool-Aid -- per surviving witnesses' testimonies, the many that tried to say "no" were forced to drink by Jones's armed enforcers who threatened them with a grizzlier end if they did not comply. Folks who tried to flee were summarily shot to death. Clearly there will always be fools who willingly drink the Kool-Aid. I have faith that most folks do not want to come to that end. I'm beginning to see an awakening, a disenchantment with the whole tRump / MAGA bullshit, an anger from tRump voters that they were bamboozled and betrayed... As the tRump-Putin-Musk-MAGA machine grinds on, destroying all, it's looking a lot like "The Handmaid's Tale" come to life -- we're losing rights and services left and right, especially women and people of color. Everybody -- MAGAs included -- is losing so much that we once enjoyed and took for granted as this coup d'etat continues to ruin and decimate everything good that once was the USA. Let us pray the rest wake up before we all meet a similar fate to the Jim Jones followers -- guns to the heads of all and sundry forcing every one of us to drink the Kool-Aid... Get out there and spread the word, folks! Keep sharing and convincing and trying to dis-convert the diehard cultists. We must -- all of us together -- resist before it's too late! There's immense power in numbers. We CAN do this -- and be the UNITED States once again.
Unfortunately, they feel this is the Christian way, the right way to keep their blood lines pure. Imperialists and fascists want people to believe the propaganda their oligarchs put out. It’s all about their greed cloaked by religion. Fear, misinformation, divisiveness and hate are important tools in keeping people fighting each other. They didn’t count on the power of the people. The misguided will be betrayed by their own kind. We just have to huddle, hold on to each other, speak loudly against injustice where ever we see it. We will succeed. Courage is contagious. Speak up. Lean in. Step up, lend your voice where necessary. Every shoulder to the wheel helps move our message of justice and love for others, forward.
I’ve joined a few protests in my smallish town (Hands Off, Tesla Takedown) in recent weeks. Most of the protesters, like me, are senior citizens. We get lots of positive reinforcement from passing cars, but 10-25% of passing cars give us thumbs down (which is fine) but many middle fingers too, yelling at us, and once a pickup even stopped and revved his engine so that we were covered in exhaust fumes. I’ve been shocked at the hatred some have for people they don’t know. Where does this hatred and indecency come from? Have people like this always existed?
Thank you for a sad commentary on the current situation in our beloved nation. I pray we will start to recognize and appreciate the God-given ability to love one another because We are Loved by HIM.
I agree with you John but I have a long way to go in letting go of my hatred for the Republican establishment, and especially the right wing media, who lie to the gullible people of our society.
Also, I am so very angry at members of the service organization I love, who have complained about my Facebook posts and caused me to stop posting. According to them, it could have a negative impact on my husband who is a state leader. (Don't worry... On July 1st, the state leadership will change and I will continue my truthful posts.)
Finally, I am trying very hard not to blame MAGAheads for their views because they have been lied to for years and years. They are not blameless but they have been deceived.
I hope to one day to say, again, that I don't hate anyone.
I agree with your position. Perhaps some trump voters didn't expect the destruction of our government to come at such a rapid pace. Yet, there was plenty of available information before the election about the aims and dangers of Project 2025. Voters in 2024 were fully aware of the separation of immigrant children from their parents in trump's first term. He provided ample evidence that he is completely devoid of moral decency and lacks a single shred of dignity or integrity. He is utterly greedy, constantly lies, and revels in bullying, intimidation, and humiliatation of anyone and everyone. He has neither the slightest ability nor interest in actually doing the work involved of being president.
He wanted to: stay out of prison, have a feeling of enormous power, remain in the public eye, be the center of attention of every news cycle, and access a convenient method to grift as much money via as many sources as humanly possible. Why so many voters didn’t see through this ruse is a difficult question.
What you say is so on target. Why they didn’t see through the ruse is a mixture of selfishness and gullibility. Yes, people were struggling to make ends meet and so they chose to believe the orange one’s “promise” of fixing inflation on day one, which any rational person would know was impossible.Over and over they were told by people who were on the inside and knew him intimately about how dangerous Trump was for the country, but they tuned it all out. Now prices are just a small part of the problem they and the country face with this malevolent dictator wanna be who is hell bent on destroying good government and turning the world order upside down, as well..
This hatefulness is what sustains them - making someone else’s life miserable is what gets them upon the morning. I think they need it like we need oxygen.
Forget great. Let's make America kind again.
The majority of Americans are Kind. Our political system has been hijacked by a hateful minority who use voter suppression. gerrymandering and endless propaganda and lies to "win" elections. Also the relic of slavery the Electoral College.
Well said and exactly right. Thank you.
https://youtube.com/shorts/O-Zupp6Uksk?si=JiP7V0J6Ymxg5UaP
I saw this yesterday on Hawk’s post. Sickening, disgusting, wtf! That sheriff cannot get away with “I was just doing my job”. Cuffing and basically molesting a young female child?? 🤬
As I've said before, I don't recognize them anymore. I am their enemy and they hate me as their sibling and daughter and I tell them I love them. I just hate what's going on in the regime of trump I truly do feel sorry for them but they're not listening at all to reason
https://youtube.com/shorts/O-Zupp6Uksk?si=JiP7V0J6Ymxg5UaP
Thank you, John, for giving me this prayer—to turn the hatred I feel toward trump supporters into compassion and sympathy. I am not there yet, but with God’s Grace, hopefully I will evolve spiritually to where you are. I do not want their hate to poison my own spirit which used to be kind and tolerant.
Same. It’s really difficult though.
Ditto
From Wikipedia: "The War Prayer," a short story or prose poem by Mark Twain (written in 1905 but remained unpublished in his lifetime because his family feared public outcry against it and them), is a scathing indictment of war, and particularly of blind patriotic and religious fervor as motivations for war. The structure of the work is simple: an unnamed country goes to war, and patriotic citizens attend a church service for soldiers who have been called up. The people call upon God to grant them victory and protect their troops. Suddenly, an "aged stranger" appears and announces that he is God's messenger. He explains to them that he is there to speak aloud the second part of their prayer for victory, the part which they have implicitly wished for but have not spoken aloud themselves: the prayer for the suffering and destruction of their enemies. What follows is a grisly depiction of hardships inflicted on war-torn nations by their conquerors. The story ends with the man being condemned as a lunatic, "for there was no sense in what he said."
Sound familiar? All these good “Christians” calling for a war against and the destruction of those who are not like them or are NOT THEM? We speak of peace and love, tolerance and inclusivity, compassion and empathy, mercy and helping to alleviate the suffering of others -- and they snarl, "Let 'em rot" (witness Melania's jacket that said "I really don't care. Do U?") and tell us we're all stupid and crazy.
Though the below was written nearly 2 decades ago, this well could be about our times right now. This piece, "The War Prayer," is one of the most pointed and devastating stories ever told. It was a segment in a longer film, the denouement that was tantamount to a slap across the face to WAKE THE FUCK UP AND UNDERSTAND WHAT YOU'RE REALLY PRAYING FOR, but just that part was released as a short separate film by PBS in the early 80s I think. One of the best and most important things I've ever seen...
TWO PRAYERS TO END THE WAR: ONE UTTERED, ONE NOT
By Marilee Swirczek, 2006
When historians look back at our time and try to determine what went wrong, they may point to our president, who is short on vision and long on hubris. But they will probably conclude that we, the people, simply did not understand what we were doing…
Think before you shout "Amen!" as the president prays for victory. Have you considered what it is you're praying for?
Mark Twain says it better than I. In "The War Prayer," Twain tells about a congregation that prayed during a time of war. "In every breast," he writes, "burned the holy fire of patriotism." The pastor preached "devotion to flag and country" and beseeched God to crush their foe as they achieved nothing less than victory.
Then Twain describes an aged stranger who entered the church with a message from Almighty God: "He has heard the prayer of your shepherd and will grant it if such be your desire after I, His messenger, shall have explained to you its import. For it is like many of the prayers of men, in that it asks for more than he who utters it is aware – except he pause and think."
The stranger said that when men pray one prayer, God in His wisdom hears two: "one uttered, the other not."
Then he put into words the unspoken prayer: "O Lord, help us to tear their soldiers to bloody shreds with our shells; help us to cover their smiling fields with the pale forms of their patriot dead; help us to drown the thunder of the guns with the shrieks of their wounded, writhing in pain.
"Help us to lay waste their humble homes with a hurricane of fire; help us to wring the hearts of their unoffending widows with unavailing grief; help us to turn them out roofless with their little children to wander unfriended the wastes of their desolated land in rags and hunger and thirst, broken in spirit, worn with travail, imploring Thee for the refuge of the grave and denied it.
"Lord, blast their hopes, blight their lives, protract their bitter pilgrimage, make heavy their steps, water their way with their tears, stain the white snow with the blood of their wounded feet! We ask it of Him Who is the Source of Love."
The stranger finished, and the congregation fell silent. "If ye still desire it, speak! The messenger of the Most High waits."
In Ecclesiastes we read that there is "a time to keep silent and a time to speak." It's time to speak. God is listening…
We still can change what seems to be a passage to destruction. We still can edit the history books that our grandchildren's children will read. There is yet time to change our prayer to one of righteousness – if we pause and think – for God hears two prayers in each and every prayer we utter.
This hatefulness is what sustains them, and that’s a national tragedy.
Let us as true Christ followers not echo their hatefulness. I pray for them and must move on with my life. They are Christians in name only.
Your appeal to MAGA's humanity is truly logical and quite touching. I would love to think that it could work. I would love to "test drive" it on a few people, but I suspect it would not have much of an impact. And I am also ashamed to admit I am almost too scared to try.
I have put together a letter that condenses what John consistently writes. I send them anonymously to the hateful Trumpers I know. I have no idea if they have an impact but, hey, it's worth the cost of a stamp to try.
Thanks for the great idea!!
They are in a cult, and cultists don’t think independently. 900 people drank the Kool-Aid in the Jim Jones cult. How awful!
You are right that cultists do not think independently and that rabid tRumpists are indeed brainwashed into the cult of tRump. That said, what is saddest about that painful, horrible and shattering event -- the mass "suicide" by drinking poisoned Kool-Aid -- is that so many realized, too late, how they had been so terribly misled and how just wrong in the head Jim Jones was. I believe the majority did not willingly drink the Kool-Aid -- per surviving witnesses' testimonies, the many that tried to say "no" were forced to drink by Jones's armed enforcers who threatened them with a grizzlier end if they did not comply. Folks who tried to flee were summarily shot to death. Clearly there will always be fools who willingly drink the Kool-Aid. I have faith that most folks do not want to come to that end. I'm beginning to see an awakening, a disenchantment with the whole tRump / MAGA bullshit, an anger from tRump voters that they were bamboozled and betrayed... As the tRump-Putin-Musk-MAGA machine grinds on, destroying all, it's looking a lot like "The Handmaid's Tale" come to life -- we're losing rights and services left and right, especially women and people of color. Everybody -- MAGAs included -- is losing so much that we once enjoyed and took for granted as this coup d'etat continues to ruin and decimate everything good that once was the USA. Let us pray the rest wake up before we all meet a similar fate to the Jim Jones followers -- guns to the heads of all and sundry forcing every one of us to drink the Kool-Aid... Get out there and spread the word, folks! Keep sharing and convincing and trying to dis-convert the diehard cultists. We must -- all of us together -- resist before it's too late! There's immense power in numbers. We CAN do this -- and be the UNITED States once again.
Thanks for continuing to show love and helping us not get discouraged.
Unfortunately, they feel this is the Christian way, the right way to keep their blood lines pure. Imperialists and fascists want people to believe the propaganda their oligarchs put out. It’s all about their greed cloaked by religion. Fear, misinformation, divisiveness and hate are important tools in keeping people fighting each other. They didn’t count on the power of the people. The misguided will be betrayed by their own kind. We just have to huddle, hold on to each other, speak loudly against injustice where ever we see it. We will succeed. Courage is contagious. Speak up. Lean in. Step up, lend your voice where necessary. Every shoulder to the wheel helps move our message of justice and love for others, forward.
Brava, Lalita! Beautifully said! Thank you.
I’ve joined a few protests in my smallish town (Hands Off, Tesla Takedown) in recent weeks. Most of the protesters, like me, are senior citizens. We get lots of positive reinforcement from passing cars, but 10-25% of passing cars give us thumbs down (which is fine) but many middle fingers too, yelling at us, and once a pickup even stopped and revved his engine so that we were covered in exhaust fumes. I’ve been shocked at the hatred some have for people they don’t know. Where does this hatred and indecency come from? Have people like this always existed?
Sorry, but yes. Still the majority are better human beings.
Reflects my own heart for my own friends and relatives who have believed the lies. And as I do continually, “Lord have mercy.” 🙏🏽❤️
And now I’m reminded too of both John Lewis and Pope Francis who encouraged us to “get into good trouble to make a “beautuful mess.”
Thank you for a sad commentary on the current situation in our beloved nation. I pray we will start to recognize and appreciate the God-given ability to love one another because We are Loved by HIM.
Amen to that. Thanks.
I am so thankful for your commentary! As I (we) struggle to make sense out of the nonsense which is hurting so many…
So thankful we share a common way of thinking and caring for our country and all!
Bingo! Spot on.
I agree with you John but I have a long way to go in letting go of my hatred for the Republican establishment, and especially the right wing media, who lie to the gullible people of our society.
Also, I am so very angry at members of the service organization I love, who have complained about my Facebook posts and caused me to stop posting. According to them, it could have a negative impact on my husband who is a state leader. (Don't worry... On July 1st, the state leadership will change and I will continue my truthful posts.)
Finally, I am trying very hard not to blame MAGAheads for their views because they have been lied to for years and years. They are not blameless but they have been deceived.
I hope to one day to say, again, that I don't hate anyone.
I agree with your position. Perhaps some trump voters didn't expect the destruction of our government to come at such a rapid pace. Yet, there was plenty of available information before the election about the aims and dangers of Project 2025. Voters in 2024 were fully aware of the separation of immigrant children from their parents in trump's first term. He provided ample evidence that he is completely devoid of moral decency and lacks a single shred of dignity or integrity. He is utterly greedy, constantly lies, and revels in bullying, intimidation, and humiliatation of anyone and everyone. He has neither the slightest ability nor interest in actually doing the work involved of being president.
He wanted to: stay out of prison, have a feeling of enormous power, remain in the public eye, be the center of attention of every news cycle, and access a convenient method to grift as much money via as many sources as humanly possible. Why so many voters didn’t see through this ruse is a difficult question.
What you say is so on target. Why they didn’t see through the ruse is a mixture of selfishness and gullibility. Yes, people were struggling to make ends meet and so they chose to believe the orange one’s “promise” of fixing inflation on day one, which any rational person would know was impossible.Over and over they were told by people who were on the inside and knew him intimately about how dangerous Trump was for the country, but they tuned it all out. Now prices are just a small part of the problem they and the country face with this malevolent dictator wanna be who is hell bent on destroying good government and turning the world order upside down, as well..
This hatefulness is what sustains them - making someone else’s life miserable is what gets them upon the morning. I think they need it like we need oxygen.