Praying for our Nation

Joseph followed the inauguration, and is beginning to grasp an understanding of the richness of our democratic republic. But the day for us was bittersweet. This article puts much of my thoughts into words. The Difference Two Days Makes by Steve Skojec http://insidecatholic.com/Joomla/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=5264&Itemid=100

I disagree strongly with many of the views of our new president, but I appreciate the historic occasion his election represents. It is a shame that this moment of national pride in overcoming past wrongs is tainted with such surrender to the same vile aspect of our nature that made slavery, segregation, and racism possible in the first place. Too few are asking the essential question: How can we see the election of this president as true progress, when as a people we have merely traded one tradition of civil-rights abuse for another that's even worse?.... we must get the truth to as many people as possible, no matter what their beliefs: Abortion is not a religious issue, it is a human-rights issue. It doesn't take eyes of faith to see the humanity of a child in the womb.

In another article by Steven Ertelt Barack Obama Omits Mention of Life in Declaration Cite in Inaugural Speech

School children learn the line in civics and government classes -- "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness." Yet, incoming president Barack Obama, who likes to remind people he is a former Constitutional law professor, disregarded life as the first of the inalienable human rights. The omission in his inaugural speech either came as a purposeful one or is evidence that Obama isn't as sapient as he claims. Obama referred to the Declaration of Independence when he said, "The time has come to reaffirm our enduring spirit; to choose our better history; to carry forward that precious gift, that noble idea, passed on from generation to generation: the God-given promise that all are equal, all are free, and all deserve a chance to pursue their full measure of happiness." Family Research Council president Tony Perkins noticed the absence of the crucial pro-life right. "What he neglected to include was the Founders' emphasis on life and liberty," he told LifeNews.com. Perkins thinks the failure to mention the right to life was an example of a failure to reflect on the entirety of the symbolism Obama has relied on for his inauguration. "The weekend has been full of symbolic tributes to President Abraham Lincoln: the train ride to the nation's capital along the same route taken by President Lincoln nearly 150 years ago, the festivities yesterday in front of the Lincoln memorial, the swearing in on Lincoln's Bible," Perkins explained. "While we celebrate the symbolic meaning of these events, there is much more to Mr. Lincoln that we urge President Obama to reflect on," he added. "Lincoln once said, 'Nothing stamped in the divine image and likeness was sent into the world to be trodden on....' Mr. President, with respect we ask--are not unborn children so stamped?" Perkins asked. The pro-life leader continued, "Mr. President, this is an historic day. Your inauguration heals an ancient wound. We pray that your administration will not deepen and inflame the wounds of today. We urge you to reject the counsel of those who prey on the young, who profit from death, and who daily break parents' hearts." "President Obama, on the first day of this new chapter in America, we appeal to the better angels of your nature. Protect the most vulnerable among us," he concluded.

I deeply disdain the disordered prejudice in our history, whether it's the terrible injustices toward the African Americans, or closer to my family, the "Irish need not apply" that my Grandfather endured. I am grateful to have an African American president, but deeply saddened, that this one, who so represents the triumph of the minorities, is the one who plans to devastate the most vulnerable, the most innocent, and those who 35% of the time are also African American. We saw them celebrate the new "change" but what changes really lay ahead, if we slaughter our innocents. We taught our children, we must now pray for our President, every day, that he advances the true good, and will come to see the value of innocent human life. For this is our greatest national treasure. Lord help our nation, we pray.