American Sins

The bold public resurgence of racism, heterosexism, transphobia, xenophobia, jingoism, blatant mendacity, and pathological disregard for the planet is exhausting and discouraging.

But now we can see what many of us were tempted to believe was past, or marginal. Our “have gun will travel” country has built on war, conquest, slavery, genocide, economic exploitation, and dehumanizing “the other” (including Irish and Italian and Polish immigrants before they we lumped into larger “white” identity,  Puerto Ricans even though they are full citizens, Japanese who were incarcerated for their heritage, Chinese whose labor was exploited to build infrastructure, Jews, Muslims, until fairly recently in our history, Catholics, etc.). The ugliness we see has always been with us; we simply have nurtured the beast a bit more in recent years.

Now that we can’t deny our sins, we have an opportunity to correct them, to atone, to heal, to make a conscious decision to be better. This is an ugly time, but it can lead to a better nation...a nation that admits its faults and actively seeks to correct them. May it be so.

Praying With and For You

My prayer this morning. Maybe I was praying with or for you:

Infinite Hope,
Boundless Compassion,
Abiding Peace,
Enduring Love:
My heart and mind are full of swirling thoughts.
Some of them are difficult to make out.
There’s an idea, no a memory, no a feeling.
When its all soupy like that, I still trust that life is good, that there is grace equal to every need, that wisdom will show up when and how I need her most.
So now, I simply relax and breathe.
I feel connected to loved ones.
I send goodwill to those who face difficulty or who endure pain.
I believe bright days and joyful moments are on the way.
I pause. I feel grateful. I know that I am strong, and so are those who are on my heart today.
All is well.
Amen.

(Durrell Watkins)