A New Beginning

Today is a new beginning

The first day of a new year

A divisive, hate-filled President has left

In his place stands someone we can trust

A compassionate, caring man with experience

At his side as Vice-President is a woman

A first in this country, a woman VP

Who is also the first black and Asian VP

I started to cry when she took the oath

As did so many other women

Little girls declared “she looks like me”

Lady Gaga and J.Lo sang, Garth Brooks too

But it was a young black woman

Who stole the show with her poem

COVID and security made for a small crowd

But three ex-presidents were present 

I sat in my nightclothes for hours

Unable to move from the spectacle

Normalcy is returning to our country

Perhaps decency and respect will too

We demonstrated a peaceful transition of power

I feel like I can breathe again, sleep again

There is so much work to do

How do we heal the wounds?

Our new President speaks of unity

Is that realistic or a dream?

I want to be proud of my country again

I want a country of equal opportunity

A country that is once again respected

By people all over the world

A country where all religions are honored

A country where children are safe in school

Where people love their neighbors as themselves

 

Today I pray for President Joseph R. Biden

And Vice President Kamala Harris

I pray for their wisdom, courage, and success

For their success is our success

God bless America

 

Written on 1/20/21

Written on 1/20/21

A Cancelled Prayer Vigil

Today was to be our first prayer vigil of the 2021 Idaho Legislative session. . . and the beginning of the 8^th year of these vigils.  It was a sunny, cold day.  The promised rain never materialized.  The noon hour came and went but we weren’t there in our usual place on the Capitol steps.

On Monday, the Idaho Legislature convened and the Governor gave his address.  There were protesters, the same group that forced their way into the House chambers and broke a window during a special summer session.  As usual, they were mostly unmasked and some were carrying guns.   Their protest?  Our Republican governor put minimal restrictions on our state to slow the coronavirus.  They were in the halls and also in front of the Capitol.

A friend told me she wasn’t coming to the prayer vigil for fear of being harassed.  I doubted that they would return while we were there.  And then a couple other women said they were worried about safety.  After the insurrection at our nation’s capitol, the FBI is warning about violence at all 50 state capitols in the days leading up to the inauguration.  But Idaho?  I looked online for more specific information.  Finding none, I contacted someone who has connections with law enforcement at our capitol.  She contacted the community safety coalition of which she is a part to ask for advice.  Their response: Stay home!  It is not safe to be at the capitol during the next 7 days and maybe longer.  So I cancelled today’s prayer vigil and the one planned for next week.

What has our nation become?  We sit at home, afraid to go out.  Afraid of this virus that is ravaging our country and the world.  Afraid of the right wing fanatics who are running around with guns screaming profanities and “Trump!”  And of course they won’t wear masks.  Our democracy was shaken last week.  Rioters desecrated the seat of our government.  Five people died.  They threatened our leaders and some might have been killed if they had been found.  After these insurrectionists were removed, a large number of Republicans still raised objections during the counting of the electoral votes.  These objections to a demonstrably fair election, based solely on the lies of the President, were another attempt to overthrow an election and our government.  Where does this lead us?

Today the U.S. House of Representatives voted to impeach President Donald J. Trump for the second time, a first in our history.  It is uncertain what will happen next.  More information is coming out about the insurrection each day.  Arrests are being made.  We just have to wait and see.

There are large numbers of Americans who have been living in a fantasy of the President’s making, with the help of his enablers.  They actually believe the election was stolen from Trump when it is he who is trying to overthrow a legitimate election.  They will only believe him, the con artist from New York.  These people apparently want an authoritarian government.

We hope that changes will come with a new president, but he has a huge mess to clean up.  How do we unite when people are living with different realities?  There is so much anger and hate coming from Trump voters.  How do we build trust between people?  I’m afraid it will take a long time.

Our prayer vigils will begin as soon as it is safe.  We have a lot to pray about.

Written on 1/13/2021