If President Barack Obama hadn’t realized already the burden of his new office, then the moment surely came on Wednesday as he sat in Washington’s National Cathedral for a special prayer service.
A gospel choir gathered directly in front of the pew where he was sitting with his wife Michelle, Vice President Joe Biden and his wife Jill, and Bill and Hillary Clinton and began to sing a popular song that seemed to touch on a lot of the daunting challenges facing the new administration.
“He’s got the whole world in his hands … He’s got the young and the old in his hands … He’s got the rich and poor right in his hands … He’s got the earth and the sky right in his hands,” the choir sang. Some members of the congregation, including Obama and his wife, sang a few lines.
Of course, the “He” referred to in the song is God, and church leaders, in their choice of hymns and readings during the service, repeatedly asked God to give Obama the wisdom to be a wise and responsible leader during his four years in office.
Obama struck a contemplative pose, left forefinger resting on his chin, as he listened to Sharon Watkins, general minister and president of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in the United States and Canada delivered the sermon.
“There are crises banging on the door right now, pawing at us, trying to draw us off our ethical center,” she said. “We need you Mr. President to hold your ground. ”
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- Photo credit: Reuters/Larry Downing (Choir sings in front of Obama’s pew during National Prayer Service)
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5 comments so far
There will be difficult personal and ethical choices for our new President to make. Such as this one: now that we will supposedly ban water boarding and abide by the new restrictions planned to be set in place, soon, how will we remain as safe as we have been, post 911? As horrible and as ugly as waterboarding is, unfortunately, terrorists do not respond to “pretty please”, when being interrogated, and much of the safety and security that we enjoy today is built on the shoulders of our intelligence agency. I am not in intelligence, but I am guessing they have surely obtained much information by initially getting “leads” to investigate terrorist activity by using these soon to be banned techniques. The Ethical dilemma is: Safety and Security for us all, vrs more Rights for Terrorism suspects? Not a decision I would want to make, for one.
- Posted by RaedavIt has been proven that if the interrogators use techniques other than torture they are able to get information. Torture only puts a stain on our integrity and creates even more terrorists. 911 happened under Bush’s administration because he did not listen to the warnings that were coming through our intelligence.
- Posted by D JohnsonTorture is actually shown to be highly ineffective. When you torture people, they will spout out anything that they think that you want to hear. Whether it is true or not. We will get most of our information from informants and spy networks. It is a shame that so many people are willing to sacrifice our moral standards for anything, much less something that is ineffective. We are on a path to a brighter future in which we will once again have the moral authority and be able to show the world the correct path to freedom and dignity.
- Posted by R OrnelasHow precious.
- Posted by jasonHe’s concerned with the torture of foreign captives, but doesn’t seem to care at all about the protection of the defenseless unborn child as he has made repeatedly, abundantly clear. All human life should be treated with dignity and respect - INCLUDING the very weakest among us.
- Posted by Concerned