I Pray for Peace

I pray for peace.

I pray for peace after the election.

That we treat all our fellow human beings with respect and tolerance. And that we create a society that lifts up everyone and guarantees a good life for all.

There is a lot of pain in America – and in the world. It should be our task to end the pain, with compassion and equality.

I wrote A Prayer for Peace in a Time of Mourning the day after the 2004 Presidential election. That election left our country greatly polarized, with wars raging in Iraq and Afghanistan. Wars that continue  today.

We did not focus on healing the divisions in 2004. Those divisions continue to this day. Anger and fear are at intolerable levels.

Humanity is facing an existential crisis. The future of our grandchildren is under grave threat. Global warming and severe weather are rapidly racing to a tipping point of catastrophe.

COVID showed the weakness of the American public health system. It is an expensive scandal that health care is not treated as a basic human right, everyone in, no one out.

Pope Francis in his initial climate change statement highlighted that we can not solve climate change unless we also solve the forces behind poverty, militarism, racism, sexism. He noted that the capitalist system has failed the world.

We need to unite to work together to build a different world. That world must curb climate change and ensure that all are protected equally from the ravages of global warming. A green world.

We to need to unite in a common cause, the pursuit of the common good. That means listening to one another and looking for ways to build up trust and respect among individuals and communities. It means all of us have to be open to change for the common good.

We have different cultures that need to learn how to live together. We must respect that people have different world views and values. Even among friends.

Imagine was the song we played at our wedding.

I remember vividly the night John Lennon was murdered. And I remember the faces and bodies of too many others that have been murdered. Often by government authorities, police and military.

Far too often the victims are people of color. And the marginalized. 41 Shots by Bruce.

It will be a challenge. It will require sacrifices. Us older folks need to make reparations for the damage caused under our watch.

Empower our children.

There is no way to peace. Peace is the way.

Mark Dunlea
October 30, 2020