An Official Memorial Day Prayer for Peace

First off, a good NYT article about how Vietnamese are being pressured to support a Trump golf course. Not an Emoluments Clause problem though! Plus, that's a funny word, like "penumbra." Must be TDS!

Legislatures traditionally had days of prayer, fasting, humiliation, and thanksgiving. They were generally expressed in religious terms, appealing in some fashion to God. 

From the beginning of this country, as seen by Thomas Jefferson's dissent and concern about the sectarian nature of President Adams's day of prayer with political implications, there were dissents. Some people did not like the mixture of church and state.

I saw a reference to Trump's Memorial Day Proclamation, which contained this statement:

In honor of all of our fallen heroes, the Congress, by a joint resolution approved May 11, 1950, as amended (36 U.S.C. 116), has requested the President issue a proclamation calling on the people of the United States to observe each Memorial Day as a day of prayer for permanent peace and designating a period on that day when the people might unite in prayer.  The Congress, by Public Law 106-579, has also designated 3:00 p.m. local time on that day as a time for all Americans to observe, in their own way, the National Moment of Remembrance

And, yes, the link takes you to the amended congressional "request" (Jefferson was not convinced by such gentle language) in 1998. Not that long ago. 

I do not think Congress should "request" the president to pray, even if it is done in their own way. "Religious faith" reasonably does not apply to everyone. And, people do not just "pray." They exercise their faith in a variety of ways.  

I am pleased with the request to pray for permanent peace. That reaffirms my belief that the best way to honor the dead from wars is to promote a means to stop them from dying. 

(The official title of Trump's proclamation is "PRAYER FOR PEACE, MEMORIAL DAY, 2025.")

Nonetheless, Congress shall make no law respecting the establishment of religion. Arranging prayer rituals is one such type of law. If the president or anyone else wants to "call" people to pray, it is their right. 

We can apply the terms broadly. The word "pray," again, has many meanings. For instance, it is sometimes used in legal documents. We should try to narrow problematic things. 

Trump's choice to ask people to pray to "Almighty God" as part of his official act is troublesome. It is a type of Christian nationalism, if read with his other acts and words. I put aside his hypocrisy about Gold Star Families, given his past words and actions. 

Other presidents (or whatever Trump is) can be trusted to be at least somewhat less hypocritical and blasphemous. Overall, however, Congress should not "request" or whatever the president to tell us how to pray. We can handle that on our own.

The promotion of peace can be done without that garnish. Request them to spread that message, and they can choose the path they wish to take.