Submitted by Rabbi Arthur Waskow on
Dear folks (written at 4 pm Thursdaay, January 7), I am watching the Capitol, as I assume you are. I don’t intend to make a “Case” for what needs to be done, because you know as well as I do. Just to suggest the mechanism ands details And to follow with a prayer to strengthen us as we invoke the Interbreathing Spirit of the world, the Breath of Life.
Not only for the symbolism, but for reality --- to prevent further crime by the President-- he should be impeached, removed, and prevented (as the Constitution provides) from ever again holding any office under the United States,. As for us, the People, we should be demanding the impeachment / removal processs of every Member of Congress.The phone number 1202-224-3121 is where to call for your Senator or House Member, as well as the home district of each Member. I urge each of us to call again and again. (Residents of D.C. who have no voting representative could ask for the Speaker and for Senator Schumer.)
Trump's promise Thursday morning to permit a peaceful transfer of authority is worthless. Not only does he lie more often than one can count, a democracy does not depend on the whims of a would-be dictator -- but rather on the power of the people.
Any of our Senators or House Members who -- even after the attack on the Capitol -- joined the Trumpist effort to call for a fake post-election audit, tell them to resign.
After Trump has been removed from office, he should be indicted for a myriad of crimes. If he commits another crime by pardoning himself, that should be ignored.
Please share this letter and the prayer below, or write your own to all your friends.
A Prayer in Time of Coup & Insurrection
You Who taught us 3,000 years ago that the only king we needed was the Interbreathing Spirit of all Life,
You Who when we insisted we needed a king instructed us to limit the powers of a king,
You Who empowered yeomen farmers and taught us always to honor their own dignity,
You Who instructed Moses that every seventh year the whole people, even small children, should assemble to rethink the Sacred Teaching,
You Who inspired Ezra and Nehemiah to call on the People to vote on whether they would affirm the Torah,
Inspire us now, at this moment of great peril –
Inspire us with the strength to demand the removal of a ruler –
Who has shown contempt for Your Creation and Your People,
Who has acted with cruelty to mothers, fathers, and children,
Who has incited a violent mob to attack the place where our representatives gather to struggle toward our good.
Inspire us to unite to affirm once more the sacred Image in our diversity
And to banish Cruelty, Subjugation, and Violence from the halls of leadership.
