Well not the law really but a Presidential proclamation. For those of you not in the know, today is the "National Day of Prayer." Like many pseudo-religious institutions supported by the government, the "National Day of Prayer" came about to fight those damn godless communists.
I want to start this diary with some full disclosure, I am an unapologetic atheist, and I believe that just as I was allowed the freedom to find a belief system that fills my life with purpose, I would be remiss to deny that to anyone else. I whole-heartedly believe in the freedom of religion, for the freedom of people to choose a worldview and belief system that makes sense to them.
The "National Day of Prayer" however is something that I can barely tolerate. On it's face it is doesn't seem too odious, most religions pray, even people who choose no religion can pray or meditate or reflect or [insert word here for closing eyes and talking to self]. No one can really get their undies in a bunch over stopping and thinking about the things they are thankful for. And if the "National Day of Prayer" stopped there, I would not be writing this.
Let's take a look at the content of the Presidential Proclamation that President Obama signed today:
NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the United States of America, do hereby proclaim May 7, 2009, as a National Day of Prayer. I call upon Americans to pray in thanksgiving for our freedoms and blessings and to ask for God's continued guidance, grace, and protection for this land that we love.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this seventh day of May, in the year of our Lord two thousand nine, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and thirty-third.
BARACK OBAMA
A very proclamation sounding proclamation if there ever were one. The next points may sound nit-picky but they underscore a frustrating unspoken assumption about Americans. "I call upon Americans to pray in thanksgiving for our freedoms and blessings and to ask for God's continued guidance, grace, and protection for this land that we love."
First, there is the call to prayer, not to meditate, not to reflect, it rejects anyone whose belief system (or lack thereof) doesn't contain prayer. Of course, this is semantic quibbling to some degree, but in a meaningful way it is an insult to those who do not pray.
Second, there is the jingoistic belief that God, not a Creator, not a Divinity, but God, and in this context one must construe the meaning to be the Judeo-Christian God of Abraham, gives our nation guidance, grace, and protection. This line of thinking is rejected by believers and non-believers alike, but there it sits.
The real source of the problem is that these words were proclaimed by the democratically elected head of a secular state. They were not said as the personal aside of the man that is the President, they were spoken in an official capacity by our head of state.
So today I do not head the call of our President, of the man that I donated to, promoted endlessly, and knocked on doors for. Today I look at a nation that is beginning to shift in a Progressive way and think about some future day when the "National Day of Prayer" will be a foot note in the history of our great nation, an oddity from a time when we let a loud religious portion of the population cloud our judgment and turn our backs on the separation of church and state.