Breath Prayers (written in late September)

Trigger alert--If you are reading this post and voted for President Trump, you may want to stop reading right now! I don't want to offend anyone but I also want to record the events and my reactions in the last few weeks. ----------September--During the months when Jim was receiving radiation, I spent some time each day using "breath prayers."   I breathed in "healing" and breathed out "fears."   I think this calmed my spirit.  We are in a good place right now for Jim's healing although he will have regular blood tests.

I thought that I should continue to use these breath prayers to calm my spirit about the political process and the upcoming election.  I prayed these breath prayers at the grotto along the tow path yesterday.  It was a beautiful spot and very peaceful.  I could see reflections in the canal and hear the rustling of the leaves making a canopy over me.   But when I prayed for healing, my anger takes over.  

Yesterday President Trump refused to say that he would accept the results of the election should he lose.   He says it will be rigged  and would have to go to the Supreme Court.   It is unimaginable that we should have a president who refuses to leave office if he loses.  It makes me sick in my stomach to hear about this threat to our country and to read that the Russian media is expecting civil war in the United States.   There have been vocal Trump supporters telling folks to buy ammunition and we know Trump has called out federal troops to clear out protestors in Lafayette Square when he wanted his photo op holding a Bible at a nearby church. 

Jim says there will be others who will uphold the law.  I don't trust the Republican senate to do so.  I hope I trust the Supreme Court--even if the 9th appointee is appointed by Trump in the next few days and approved by the Republican senate.  If it is Amy Barrett from Notre Dame, I think she would vote her own mind and not be beholden to the one who appointed her.   

But I am scared and angry.  So when I tried to pray for healing for our country yesterday, I just felt angry at the disastrous situation we are in.   There is an ignorance of science and a lack of civility at the top of our government.   How can Trump hold rallies with people close together and not wearing masks?  How can we trust a vaccine if it is rushed through by election day?   How can we respect a leader who uses name calling to mock his opponents?  Who just yesterday made fun of Joe Biden saying he has spent all that money on plastic surgery just to hide behind a mask!   What a juvenile way to treat an opponent and to make the crowd cheer in approval!   

This will be the third post I have written and not actually put on my blog.  I hesitate to offend anyone--although with very few exceptions my small number of readers would agree with my point of view.  But my blogs are written for me--as a record of our lives and for my Blog2Print book at the end of the year.  And this is what we are living through right now.  Jim tells me not to read what folks post on Facebook.  But I can't avoid the news.  I turn on the TV news while doing my exercises or see it come up every day on my online news sources.  It is not easy to ignore.    

So I will try to pray for healing for our country. My anger does not do me any good.   I want to be proud to be an American and feel patriotic again.  

--------------October 23 I still haven't posted this blog. We have voted and put our ballots in a box at the township offices. 47 million have already voted. There was another debate last night. I can't imagine that many have yet to decide how they will vote. Earlier this week I woke up at 2 am and found myself praying for a peaceful transition after the election. I have voted in presidential elections since 1968 and have never felt the need to pray for a peaceful result. But this time I do hope for a change but also if there is one, that it is done without the instigation of violence and charges of fraud which Trump has threatened.

November 6 Two days after election day and we are still awaiting the results. It may not be decided yet today. As expected, President Trump has started filing lawsuits and has claimed the Democrats are stealing the election. He does not have evidence of any fraud and a couple of his lawsuits are already thrown out. Joe Biden has asked for calm and has not claimed victory. Neither one has the 270 electoral votes he needs. Biden has 253; Trump has 213. Five states are too close to call--Biden is ahead is three of them I think. He is ahead in the popular vote as was Clinton in 2016.

November 8 Biden has been declared a winner. Trump has not conceded and has said there will be legal challenges. It is a relief to know that soon, we hope, there will be "headspace" as a psychologist friend put it for something besides what has Trump done or said on Twitter today. God bless President-elect Biden and Vice-President elect Harris. I am very thankful.

 

November 12 President Trump will not concede. Some lawsuits have been dismissed others are pending. Recounts have to wait until the lawsuits are settled. Meanwhile, Biden cannot access funds to begin a transition. He has not been allowed access to state department briefs as all other president-elects have been given. President Trump has fired Pentagon officials and replaced them with his men. So who is going to escort him from the White House come January 20? He has fired the Secretary of Defense and a head of cybersecurity who had the guts to say that the election was fair. It is all very frightening and a threat to our country's democracy and stability.

  November 24 President Trump has not conceded and says he will continue the legal challenges. However, a very important and reassuring step has been taken when the GSA began the official transition to a Biden presidency by releasing funds and allowing Biden staff to participate in briefings and have office space. Enough states, including an all-important Michigan--have certified the election with Biden as the winner. I will breathe a greater sigh of relief when we see the swearing in of President-elect Biden and Vice-president elect Harris on January 20. .Trump has posted 550 tweets since November 3, 75% of them "attempting to undermine the interity of the election results." (NYT)