We are truly grateful for the intense summer heat, because we know that it fuels the growth of our crops, and without it, the South would not be the South; but we are also thankful for the benediction of shade trees, cool drinks, and sudden thunderstorms that make it possible for us to endure the heat.
We search for the wisdom to understand that our neighbor doesn't become our enemy just because he worships or believes differently from us. The emotional maturity to disagree without conflict and rancor escapes us; but we need it desperately.
We seek in vain for the ability to truly and wisely love our children, not just the children of our seed, but also those of the wider community within our circle of influence. We are guilty of over-providing for our own descendants, and we never pay enough attention or devote enough treasure to the needs of the less privileged children around us.
Along with supplicants throughout the world, we pray that our political leaders can be blessed with the grace to disregard their short-term electoral prospects, and the courage to put aside shallow patriotism, so that all wars can be ended. We mourn the loss of our sons and daughters on foreign battlefields, as well as the loss of the sons and daughters of our adversaries. We want nothing more than to have their fellows back in their homes, peacefully living out the lives that they deserve.
All of this we pray in the spirit of love, brotherhood and peace proclaimed by The Buddha, the prophet Mohammed, by Jesus of Nazareth, and by innumerable wise and good men and women over the centuries. Amen.
Thomas R. Borden Montgomery, Alabama July 1, 2005