The Nature of Prayer?

I’ve been thinking lately about… well, thinking, and what it means to pray. And I think I found an answer that’s been right under my nose all this time; or, actually, just above it, and toward the back.

In the First Book of Thessalonians, Paul beseeches followers to “pray without ceasing.” When I first read that passage, it seemed rather impractical, if not impossible. We certainly think without ceasing, but to ceaselessly pray? People wouldn’t get a whole lot done during the course of each day. Years later, though, I came across another passage, this one written by Unity minister Eric Butterworth, who suggested that all thoughts are prayers. All thoughts are prayers, and all prayers are answered.

What if all of our thoughts were prayers? It would certainly place Paul's words in proper context. After all, if we think without ceasing – and if all ceaseless thoughts were prayers – then we would be praying without ceasing. If that were true, and if (a big if) all prayerful thoughts were actually answered, why wouldn’t that have been glaringly apparent to us by now?

Actually, given the things we think about, how would we even know? Look at the way we spend our days: we often have idle thoughts; our thoughts are often at odds with each other; we spend hours mindlessly watching television; we often get “lost” in thought (and men think about women a thousand times a day); we daydream; we think kind thoughts; we think not-so-kind thoughts; we often change our minds and even the direction of our thinking, ceaselessly. Is it any wonder then that, in this landscape, prayerful thoughts could even manifest in a way that would be recognizable? As singer/songwriter Paul Simon crooned: “Half of the time we’re gone and we don’t know where.”

What if humans were endowed with prayerful thoughts that do indeed get answered? What would be the consequence, then, when we aligned our thoughts with some consistency over time, and perhaps in alignment with others? If we truly believed all thoughts were prayers, and all prayers were answered, think how different we would approach each moment: Would we ever waste another thought feeling resentful or jealous? Would we harbor angry thoughts? Would we lie to each other? Would we even embellish the truth? Would we ever entertain ungrateful thoughts? Would we ever feel bored? Would we ever think of raising a weapon or even a fist at another person? Where would you turn your thoughts if you felt they contained within them… well, the answers to all your prayers?

Some might argue that I’m being a bit too Puritan in my approach to structured thought; too strict. But it’s not about being strict. After all, an archer isn’t being “strict” when he aims for a target. He’s being accurate. And if our thoughts do carry that much potential, what choice would you then give yourself?

So, put down the remote, and stop sending mindless tweets that no one really cares about. Reign in the wild stallion we call "thinking" and direct it both inward and outward, with consistency, over time. It just could be the greatest unrealized gift that humans possess. It might require a lifetime of practice to get it right, but consider the legacy we could leave for subsequent generations.

(Oh, by the way, if prayerful thought proved fruitful, then faith - an active faith - would not be far behind.)

Texas Legislature Considers Dropping Medicaid

The Republican-controlled Texas legislature is considering opting out of Medicaid altogether. State Representative Warren Chisum, the most vocal opponent of the program, echoed the sentiments of others when he said: "It breaks my heart when there’s someone who smokes, and who stays drunk half the time, and we’re supposed to provide their health care."

Amen to that Mr. Chisum. It doesn't seem fair, does it? After all, why should people have to pay out of their own pockets for other people's self-destructive lifestyle choices? So it begs the question: Why is our private insurance system structured to do just that? The answer, of course, is obvious.

The millions of smokers and alcoholics (and the epidemic of obese Americans) who do have private insurance are running up medical bills that far exceed what they pay out in personal premiums (estimated to be One-Half-Trillion Dollars this year alone). So, who foots their bills? Other insureds of course, who – through escalating insurance premiums – must pay to treat the unbridled appetites of fellow insureds. That's right – and you can quote me – "It breaks my heart when insured Americans smoke, engorge themselves with food, and stay drunk half the time, and we’re supposed to provide their health care."

There are a growing number of insured Americans who make the effort to change their eating and lifestyle habits but who are nonetheless expected to help carry the financial burden for the millions of insureds who don’t, other insureds who somehow feel entitled to other people's money. But we do it. Why? I suppose it's because we are our brothers’ keepers, insured or not. Look, I'd rather not pay for the medical treatment for gluttons, alcoholics and smokers. And I'd rather not pay to treat today's leading – and expensive – health problems that can be reversed through dietary and lifestyle changes: from Type II diabetes to heart disease, hypertension, and many forms of cancer directly related to diet. I guess folks like me regard folks like Representative Chisum in the same way that Mr. Chisum regards the uninsured: Pay out of your own pocket to treat your excessive lifestyle habits. If you feel you can hold the uninsureds feet to the fire for making poor lifestyle choices, then the same standard should be applied to you. Individual responsibility, though, has never been a serious part of the national dialogue on containing health care costs, and yet it remains the defining solution to the problem.

Conservative-minded people like Mr. Chisum actually do believe in socialized medicine – but their own particular version of it, and one they personally benefit from. No, they don't want their hard-earned money used to pay for those who lack health coverage of any kind; but, yes, they are quite generous with my income to pay for the health costs of those who are insured but neglectful of their health.

If Representative Chisum, and other insureds, feel entitled to spend other people's money to treat the illnesses that inevitably arise from their own poor lifestyle habits, surely they can find it in their enlarged hearts to extend that kindness to the uninsured as well. Otherwise, Mr. Chisum, and others like him, live with this double standard, which makes them hypocrites, and selfish.

Beck vs. Oprah

Earlier this year, Americans voted t.v. entertainer Glenn Beck their second-favorite television personality, after Oprah Winfrey.

In 1938, a decade before the advent of commercial television in America, the children's author and essayist E.B. White (Charlotte's Web, Stuart Little) saw his first demonstration of the invention.

"I believe television is going to be the test of the modern world," he wrote, "and that in this new opportunity to see beyond the range of our vision we shall discover either a new and unbearable disturbance of the general peace or a saving radiance in the sky. We shall stand or fall by television – of that I am quite sure."

It is interesting to note that the two top-rated television personalities stand in direct opposition to each other. Oprah Winfrey challenges us to seek out and develop the best of the human spirit. She believes in our innate intelligence. Glenn Beck's success rests upon the ignorance of his viewers as he exploits the darkest sides of human nature.

Which will prevail? The jury is still out on that, but I believe E.B. White got it right.

Forward-Thinking Energy Policy

When it comes to the clean energy initiatives and job creation, many Americans – especially our teabag-toting citizens – have been struck with an invisible, but life-threatening malaise. They are all suffering from a severe case of Nostalgia.

They are feeling nostalgic for a way of life, and a way of doing business, that we cannot, and should not try to, recapture. They are looking back over their shoulders as they move forward in time. (Try that sometime as you walk down a street. It's a lousy way to navigate.)

Fossil fuels power our 19th-century industrial base and impact personal and planetary health (from the wholesale poisoning of our air, water and soil to the health care costs and remedial actions required to address the side effects of industrial pollution and warming) as well as determining America's foreign policy and national security. Because our economy depends upon foreign oil, our instinct to survive drives our pursuit of it at all costs. This is only natural, but the costs include an aggressive foreign policy that destabilizes entire regions of the globe, requires trillions of dollars in military expenditures, escalates world conflict, and causes great loss of life and human suffering, all of which erodes national security. More to the point, an enlightened energy policy will free up a Secretary of State to shepherd a foreign policy guided by humanitarian considerations rather than pursuing our primary concern for "oil at all costs"; who would act as a broker for peace instead of an apologist for war; and who would recognize that our self-interest as a nation is inextricably tied to the welfare of people populating the entire globe.

Who should support sustainable energy initiatives? Those who favor peace over war and health over sickness; those who favor the creation of millions of new jobs and entirely new industries and exports; and those concerned about America's reputation in the world and its diminished ability to export the best of what a democracy has to offer: its principals, in action.

Americans must stop being so nostalgic and instead become a forward-thinking people who embrace 21st-century technology and who find inspiration and prosperity in redefining who we are as a nation. A change of this nature is essential for the health and prosperity of our country, and our planet. It would amount to nothing short of an American Renaissance.

Change is inevitable. We either create it or purchase it. Which will it be?

Recent Election for U.S. Senator in Massachusetts Was Not A Referendum on Health Care Reform

Contrary to widespread opinion, the recent Senate election in Massachusetts was not a referendum on health care reform.

When broken down by precinct, central and southern Massachusetts favored Republican Scott Brown, with the rest of the State leaning heavily toward Martha Coakley. Those densely populated central and southern districts in large part determined the outcome of the election. More to the point, these precincts have the highest rates of unemployment in the State. In an election in any other state, this would have meant uninsured voters, and the election would indeed have been a referendum on health care, and the pressing need for it. In Massachusetts, though, those unemployed voters and their families find themselves protected under a mandated and funded state-wide health care program. This election was not a referendum against similar health care measures being considered by Congress, but it did reflect a disregard for them. Voting specifically against similar protection for other Americans, who find themselves in similar circumstances, would have been just too cynical. The majority voted against the party in office for a host of other reasons, not to mention the lackluster campaign of Martha Coakley.

Critics of health reform, though, have successfully spun the outcome of the election, and the Congressional Democrats are retreating from health care with their tails between their legs. One reason for Democratic timidity is the rather unfortunate circumstance of "timing." Our nation's financial institutions and markets collapsed only in the closing hours of the Bush Administration, with the effects of that collapse being experienced only under the current one. Candidate Obama infused many of us with his ideas and vision for an American Renaissance. He spoke to something essential about hope and renewal that touched at least this commentator. But, as President, he has, instead, inherited the Herculean task of cleaning up the financial carnage left behind by the Bush Administration, a job made all that much harder by Republican Senators who have decided to filibuster and vote down each and every piece of meaningful legislation proposed by the President, for the sole purpose of creating legislative paralysis, and rendering the Obama presidency ineffective. They are counting on Americans having a short-term memory and a limited-enough understanding, as a way to win back the Executive and Legislative branches of government.

And it may very well work. Independent voters have indicated that they are already waxing nostalgic for the Republican way of doing business, as if eight years of it were not enough. You know, if this country is bent on going down in flames, maybe it’s best that it happen under the watch of the Republican Party and Big Business, which, after all, speak with a unified and unapologetic voice. Let them finish what they began in 2001. Perhaps two wars, two tax cuts, the largest drug entitlement program in decades – all unpaid for, added to the $1.2 Trillion debt handed to President Obama, along with a collapsed housing market, double-digit unemployment and the meltdown of the financial sector, which adds a projected $3 Trillion loss in revenues as a direct result of the recession, which, when rung up, comes to a whopping $7 Trillion in debt – is not enough of a wake-up call for Americans. 　

Perhaps this is part of a much grander plan. Mathematician and philosopher Arthur Young explained to me that all civilizations rise, and then fall, and tend to deteriorate in time rather than evolve. "Why does civilization move backwards?" he wrote. "Maybe because evolution requires a current against which to swim."

This would mirror the observation by Benjamin Franklin in the closing days of the Constitutional Convention: "…I think a general Government necessary for us… and believe farther that this is likely to be well administered for a course of years, and can only end in Despotism, as other forms have done before it, when the people shall become so corrupted as to need despotic Government, being incapable of any other." This, from a Founding Father.

The United States Constitution still forms the bedrock of our society, but maybe that bedrock is best compared to sandstone, which, when exposed to the elements of our darker and more selfish nature, erodes over time.

Let's Take a Trip Down Memory Lane

For those who criticize President Barack Hussein Obama and Vice President Biden for their minor gaffes, let's you and I take a trip down (short-term) memory lane. The following vignettes are what I was able to recall within about 10 minutes' time. It is by no means a comprehensive list:

The Bush Administration leads the United States into a war under false pretenses. 100,000+ dead, millions injured, not yet over, not yet paid for (we are beholden to China in this regard).

Secretary of State Colin Powell is intentionally fed misinformation regarding evidence of WMDs in Iraq, which he presented to the world at a televised forum at the United Nations.

Colin Powell, once the darling of the Republican Party (their first choice for presidential candidate) resigns in humiliation, his contact with the Bush Administration the only stain in an otherwise stellar career.

Valerie Plame's husband is sent to Nigeria to prove a connection between the Iraq regime and weapons purchases. He finds none and publishes his findings. His wife – a covert CIA agent - is "outed" by the Bush Administration in retaliation to her husband's findings. Scooter Libby takes the fall for Cheney/Rove, and is indicted. Exposing Valerie Plame results in the deaths of at least three agents who worked with her overseas. Exposing an undercover agent is a treasonable offense.

Senior analysts at the CIA say they felt pressured to make their intelligence reports on Iraq conform to Bush administration policies. Resignations follow.

Head of CIA, George Tenet, resigns over intelligence lapses regarding Iraq and WMDs. He writes a "tell-all" book about how the Administration misused the information his agency provided as a case for the invasion and then turned around and blamed him for the misinformation.

John Brady Kiesling, a career U.S. diplomat, resigns from the State Department. As he wrote in his resignation letter to Colin Powell: "I am resigning because I have tried and failed to reconcile my conscience with my ability to represent the current U.S. administration. I have confidence that our democratic process is ultimately self-correcting, and hope that in a small way I can contribute from outside to shaping policies that better serve the security and prosperity of the American people and the world we share."

In the early years of the Iraq war, Bush fires Larry Lindsey (Director, National Economic Council) for saying the war could end up costing cost as much as $100 Billion - $200 Billion. The Administration had been advertising the total cost of war at $60 Billion - $80 Billion. (It will, in the end, cost well over $1 Trillion).

The cost of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan never included in Bush Administration budgets.

Secret Rendition

Secret Prisons

Torture: and torture carried out, not by the military or CIA, but by for-profit companies.

Kodak moments at Abu Graib, including rapes of female and male prisoners.

Underestimating the enemy ("Mission Accomplished." "Bring’em on!")

Donald Rumsfeld mismanaging the war from the start, against the advice of Colin Powell and Pentagon.

Rumsfeld resigns.

Failed reconstruction of Iraq. Hundreds of billions of dollars in reconstruction aid unaccounted for. Auditors discover one contractor that was paid $80 Billion to electrify US-related installations performed substandard work in 78% of the buildings, which has resulted in the death-by-electrocution of three American soldiers and injuries to dozens more. This contractor was awarded $30 Million in bonuses in 2008.

Christine Todd Whitman appointed head of the EPA, then resigns when she learns the EPA under George Bush is a joke.

Senior scientists resign en masse from the EPA because the Bush Administration doctors and politicizes their findings.

U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft tramples on civil liberties to the point of becoming a liability even to the Bush Administration. Ashcroft resigns immediately following 2004 election results. The Administration expresses regret that he hadn't resigned prior to the election.

Alberto Gonzalez appointed as the new Attorney General.

Firing of Federal prosecutors for political purposes.

Illegal wiretapping exposed.

Senior attorneys at the Justice Department resign under Alberto Gonzalez as he politicizes the Department.

Gonzalez resigns as Attorney General of the United States instead of facing further scrutiny in the politicizing of the Justice Department and his involvement in the firing of Federal prosecutors for political purposes.

Cheney Administration "loses" thousands of e-mails that would have either proven his innocence or guilt in a number of scandals (firing of prosecutors, outing of Valerie Plame, etc.). He had been required by law to preserve them.

Vetoing reauthorization of Children's Health Insurance Program

Vetoing Water Resources Development Act

Eight years of pushing back against energy initiatives and global warming initiatives, in support of big oil and their record-breaking profits.

The entire Department of the Interior is found to be in collusion with energy companies. Employees of the Department accepting gifts, bribes, money and, yes, even exchanging sex for services.

Supporting Wyeth in the Supreme Court, which is a sharp break with decades of FDA policy, the administration now sides with the pharmaceutical industry.

The Walter Reed Army Hospital scandal and the neglect of returning Veterans.

Katrina

Scrapping the Kyoto Protocol

Attempt at Social Security privatization. Imagine if he had succeeded?

Backing out of the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty

By almost every measure - GDP growth, jobs, median incomes, financial market performance - Bush stacks up as probably the least successful President on the economic front since Herbert Hoover. The last Clinton administration budget had a surplus of more than $100 billion; the fiscal 2009 deficit approached One-and-a-Half Trillion Dollars.

While Bush's handler, Carl Rove, is sidetracked to deal with a possible indictment, Bush nominates his own personal lawyer, Harriet Meyers, to the Supreme Court bench. As soon as she is asked questions concerning Constitutional law, she backs out of the process.

Not going after Osama Bin Laden and Al Qaida in Afghanistan and instead pouring resources and manpower into Iraq. As a result Bush destabilized Iraq to the point of opening its borders to terrorists, where the United States then fought against the newly formed "Al Qaida in Iraq" as well as both Iraqi Shiite and Iraqi Sunni insurgents: the wrong war for the wrong reason.

Refusing to take a seat on (and thus influence) the Human Rights Council.

Signing Statements: Gives a president the right to ignore parts of legislation he signs into law. Used if president feels parts of legislation is considered – in his opinion – unconstitutional, or unduly inhibits the performance of the Executive branch of government. To be used judiciously. From Presidents Washington through Clinton, presidents averaged 2½ signing statements each. By 2006, George Bush had invoked 750 signing statements in 125 bills. A bi-partisan panel of the American Bar Association concluded that his assertions of constitutional authority "undermine the rule of law and our constitutional system of separation of powers."

Middle East Peace Initiatives: According to Michael Oren, a professor at Georgetown University and author of Power, Faith and Fantasy, a history of American involvement in the Middle East, Bush spent five full days in office on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, coming to the region twice and hosting the two-day Annapolis conference. Eight years: five days.

78% of Americans disapprove of Bush’s eight years in office. The remaining 22% apparently reside in western Massachusetts.

Same-Sex Marriage

There is both satisfaction and disappointment surrounding the California Supreme Court's recent decision upholding the state's ban on gay marriage, as well as New Hampshire's passage of a bill allowing it. And New Yorkers will soon be swept up in the drama as it considers Governor Paterson's legislation to legalize same-sex marriage in that state.

People opposed to same-sex marriage cite Biblical text, refer to historical legislation, and point to perceived flaws in the legislative processes that have legalized same-sex marriages in other states. Humans possess this remarkable capacity to spin intricate webs of "reasoning" as a way of articulating their most primal fears and prejudices, from the man on the street to the Supreme Court bench (where Majority opinions kept segregation in place for almost 100 years following passage of the 14th Amendment granting full citizenship to African-Americans). On the surface, the mental gymnastics is impressive. One can get lost in the labyrinth of words. But truth be told, the intellect simply provides a voice for what resides, first and foremost, in the heart.

I have heard the opinions supporting gay marriage, and the reasoning runs deep, and convincing... to those who come from a similar place in the heart. No amount of "reasoning," though, will change the "reasoning" of people who, at their core, lack compassion in this regard. This has been historically true, from segregation and women's rights, to interracial marriage. It is difficult changing a person's mind until he first experiences a change of heart. Who better exemplifies this than Dick Cheney, the unflinching watchdog of Conservative values? Uncharacteristically, though, he defends same-sex marriage. In this regard, he generously offers "Freedom means freedom for everyone." Why does he make this exception and veer so sharply from Conservative dogma? Quite simply, his daughter is gay, and she is raising a son with her partner. "Freedom" would not have meant "freedom for everyone" had his daughter not been gay. It all came down to matters of the heart. It always should.

Opponents of same-sex marriage will respond to these remarks with indignation. So be it. As they do, look behind the words, which act as a thin veneer, beneath which lies intolerance and fear.

A gay soldier will take a bullet for us in time of war to protect our lives and our liberties, including the right to marry. They deserve nothing less than the same basic rights and privileges.