National Day of Prayer

Yesterday, as I was walking to my chemistry class, I saw a student uncomfortably kneeling in a corner, face toward the wall, performing his daily prayers. It was obvious that he was trying his best to be as unobtrusive as possible, while still doing what his religion mandates. It made me smile, despite my neither being Muslim or a person who prays very often. There's something beautiful about a person praying, even if those prayers are ritualized and even if they are praying to Something I don't believe in.

That little story brings me to today. President Obama declared today the National Day of Prayer, despite Barbara Crabb's recent ruling that the day is unconstitutional. Both sides seem upset about the day. Some people are upset because Obama doesn't do the prayer service Bush did, and others are upset because the day "infringes on their constitutional rights."

I think everyone should just calm down. First, I don't think it's a bad idea to cancel the prayer service. Although it would be cool to have an official gathering of different religious groups praying together, it is not necessary. Our religious leaders can organize smaller get-togethers on their own AND, especially when everyone is so worried about money, it does not make much sense to throw it away on a prayer service. Prayer can be effectively done alone and in a closet. We don't need microphones or over-paid religious officials to do it for us. Prayer is a community activity, so it would be better to find people you care about and pray with them instead of watching someone else do it on television.

Now, for the left. Since we are making the National Day of Prayer into a constitutional issue, let's take a look at what the first amendment actually says: "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof." The first half, regarding establishment of religion, is obviously inapplicable to the National Day of Prayer. The second half is a bit of a gray area, but because it regards the prohibition of religious practices, I would argue that it has no authority over encouraging citizens to "pray, or otherwise give thanks, in accordance with their own faiths and consciences." Were Obama telling everyone to pray to a certain God, then we would have a problem. However, simply recognizing that people have "cherished beliefs" and giving them a day to "publicly recognize the importance of prayer" is. not. wrong.

Discounting the National Day of Prayer because one does not pray or believe in a god to whom one could pray, seems similar to discounting Black history month on the grounds that one is not black. Just because one person is different than another, it does not mean that they can not appreciate each other. If the National Day of Prayer became a day of religious reconciliation (not conversion), I think it would be doing its job. It is possible for people who do not believe in God to be involved in the day, or to turn a blind eye to it if it bothers them that much. There is no reason to complain about the existence of something that IS NOT HARMFUL.

I don't know why, in a country that prides itself on the acceptance of people of all kinds, we have so much trouble actually accepting people who do not agree with us. We don't need to require superficial assimilation. Let's appreciate each other's differences. Let's learn about and experience the things that other people love and might make us uncomfortable and then offer to teach those who are different the things we love and might make them a little uncomfortable.

...yes I'm probably a bit of a hippie.