One of the strangest cyber-psalms I wrote was #37 which was basically an encomium for George W. Bush and a curse on Saddam Hussein.
I have never been comfortable with the way people have scorned George Bush. It’s my own conservativism I suppose. I believe in respecting public officials and those in authority. I even have a tough time calling pastors by their first name without at least the title “Pastor” appended to it. I frequently call police officers and the elderly “sir” or “ma’am.” So you see that despite my smart-alecky online persona I have this sense of awe or respect for those whom we have chosen as our leaders. I use my words carefully here because there are cases in which leaders presume authority, or usurp it, or use corruption or force to hold on to it. You won’t see me taking my hat off to them.
But for a democratically-elected politician to be scorned and ridiculed. Or for a pastor to be back-bitten or slandered. That bugs me. In fact, I think it’s a sin. Those who can’t respect authority in their job or school or society probably don’t have much respect for God either.
I despised Bill Clinton as President. I didn’t vote for him and I thought he was reprehensible on many levels. But I respected him in office and I prayed for him begrudgingly.
So I think that is part of the impulse that inspired Cyber-Psalm 37. I continue to thank my lucky stars that we had a hawk in the White House during these past eight years. I tremble to think what shape we would have been in with a panty-waist like Al Gore “leading” this country.
Well, all that lead up is just to let you know that Chaka recorded Cyber-Psalm 37 complete with the Greek inscription at the beginning. It’s wonderfully done and I hope you give it a listen.
I’ve yet to write a Cyber-Psalm in honor of President Obama but if anyone needs our prayers he does so I just might.
I think a careful reading of the psalms can avoid the objectification of the enemy. The canonical psalmist prays to God for vengeance. In the final analysis, God takes the vengeance into God-self. That alone is an avoidance to be desired – not to mention the life-giving anointing. Though I myself had and have much to learn – and some of it requiring reproof or rebuke, I remember stopping my liturgical writing for more than a year when Bush II took up a battle on what we knew then to be pretext. So we need now prayer for shrewdness – wise as serpents – innocent as doves.
If only it had been Al Gore – as it should have been of course. Isn’t it hypocritical to pray “begrudgingly”? It seems sort of meaningless. Maybe not… I’m no expert on these things!
Nevertheless, as a non American I had no vote so was not part of the democracy which ‘chose’ Bush anyway (although even that he was the one chosen is debatable). Therefore he shall be scorned and ridiculed until he’s tried for the war crimes he committed, just as a pastor, a teacher, or a policeman are tried when they commit crimes. Gees – in his supposed list of ‘mistakes’ his only confessed ‘mistake’, apparently, was declaring ‘mission accomplished’ too soon. And even then, it wasn’t exactly a ‘mistake’…
I think we are a little more egalitarian here – we don’t tend to treat our leaders like celebrities or deities and anyway, they don’t generally want to be treated any differently. Maybe because we’re so small and we’re all related…
Saddam Hussein was also a President, no doubt elected by some kind of gerrymandered democratic process like Bush. Why, despite him of course being “reprehensible on many levels”, no respect for him in office?
Hmmm, all the commenters aren’t American. Maybe there is political intimidation going on in the US…
Steph, you’re from Pitcairn Island, right?
Steph is from Pitcairn? Then she is like you Americans in being descended from mutineers against the British crown. Talk about respecting authority!
No, New Zealand you cheeky mite. We’re all related because we call everyone cuz – including the PM.