Reflection
Now that the election is over it may be good for us to read and reflect on this prayer by one of our nation’s founders. Even though its language may be dated, its concepts are timeless.
Almighty God, Who has given us this good land for our heritage; We humbly beseech Thee that we may always prove ourselves a people mindful of Thy favor and glad to do Thy will. Bless our land with honorable ministry, sound learning, and pure manners.
Save us from violence, discord and confusion, from pride and arrogance, and from every evil way. Defend our liberties, and fashion into one united people the multitude brought hither out of many kindreds and tongues.
Endow with Thy spirit of wisdom those to whom in Thy name we entrust the authority of government, that there may be justice and peace at home, and that through obedience to Thy law, we may show forth Thy praise among the nations of the earth.
In time of prosperity fill our hearts with thankfulness and in the day of trouble, suffer not our trust in Thee to fail; all of which we ask through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Thomas Jefferson
Prayer
That all may be one.
Action
With malice toward none, with charity for all, with firmness in the right as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in, to bind up the nation’s wounds, … to do all which may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace among ourselves and with all nations.
Abraham Lincoln
Let us each begin in our own way and among our own neighbors.
Suggested Reading
Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves,
Philippians 2:3
I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you.
John 13:15
The most important political office is that of the private citizen.
Louis Brandeis
The political process does not end on Election Day. Young people need to stay involved in the process by continuing to pay attention to the conversation and holding their leaders accountable for the decisions they make.
Patrick Murphy
Elections determine who is in power, but they do not determine how power is used.
Paul Collier
The spirit of liberty is the spirit, which is not too sure that it is right; the spirit of liberty is the spirit which seeks to understand the minds of other men and women; the spirit of liberty is the spirit which weighs their interests alongside its own without bias; the spirit of liberty remembers that not even a sparrow falls to earth unheeded; the spirit of liberty is the spirit of One who, near two thousand years ago, taught [humankind] that lesson it has never learned, but has never quite forgotten: that there may be a realm where the least shall be heard and considered side by side with the greatest.
Judge Learned Hand – 1944