For Whom I’m Praying

 

I regularly receive angry mail from religious leaders chastising me for writing about our president. These letters are most always from older white men.

Today I received this note from a local Methodist pastor:

I could assume you are one of the democratic “Trump haters” in which case the president can do nothing that would please you. I am sorry you feel the way you do and that you would consider publishing such a mean piece about our president. I wonder how such a beautiful lady (picture) could have such “bad” thoughts. Why don’t you join many of us in praying for our president.
____________

To all those who write, I say this:

Dear Pastor,

I pray for the handicapped reporter our president mocked from the stage.

I pray for the woman about whom our then-60 yr old president said, “I did try and fuck her. She was married. I moved on her like a bitch, but I couldn’t get there.”

I pray for all of the women about whom he referred when saying, “When you’re a star, they let you do it. You can do anything. Grab them by the pussyy. You can do anything.”

I pray for the gold star parents he smeared.

I pray for all Americans threatened and persecuted by hate-groups, like those who marched in Charlottesville with torches and chants like “Jews will not replace us,” who feel emboldened by this administration.

I pray for the the mother of Heather Heyer, her daughter a victim of domestic terrorism, whom the president could not be bothered to call with condolences for 5 long days.

I pray for those elderly and uneducated students of Trump University who were sold a scam and lost thousands of dollars in order to line the president’s pockets.

I pray for refugees, most of whom are women and children, escaping persecution whom the president insists on barring from the safe harbor of this great country.

I pray for the people of Texas and the gulf coast, every person and living being in the flood plane who needs water, food, shelter, and good care, and that the president corrects his current lapse-of-care for their needs.

I pray for our military troops and commanders, as they work for a man who claims he knows more than they do.

I pray for freedom of the press.

I pray for the courage of Congress, the rule of law, and the survival of our democracy.

And most fervently, I pray for Robert Mueller and his team.

Thank you for writing.