When I spoke up last weekend to do WYFP, I figured on something silly, something light-hearted. Maybe general frustrations with life in general and family in particular.
Then Tuesday happened. And I found myself in a deep depression that I’m still trying to climb out of — I go between the Psalmist who said, “Out of the depths have I cried unto thee” and Freddie Mercury’s “Nothing really matters.” Actually, the first lines of Bohemian Rhapsody sum up the last 5 days well:
Is this the real life?
Is this just fantasy?
Caught in a landslide
No escape from reality
WYFP is our community's Saturday evening gathering to talk about our problems, empathize with one another, and share advice, pootie pictures, favorite adult beverages, and anything else that we think might help. Everyone and all sorts of troubles are welcome. May we find peace and healing here. Won't you please share the joy of WYFP by recommending?
The definition of litany from Dictionary.com:
1. a ceremonial or liturgical form of prayer consisting of a series of invocations or supplications with responses that are the same for a number in succession. 2. the Litany, the supplication in this form in the Book of Common Prayer. 3. a recitation or recital that resembles a litany. 4. a prolonged or tedious account
There are many different litanies out there. The Catholics have the most – Litanies of the Saints, of the Blessed Virgin, etc. Fans of the Frank Herbert SF series Dune may be familiar with the Bene Gesserit Litany Against Fear:
I must not fear. Fear is the mind-killer.
Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration.
I will face my fear.
I will permit it to pass over me and through me.
And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path. Where the fear has gone there will be nothing. Only I will remain.
Even the Airing of Grievances for Festivus could be considered a litany of sorts (well, maybe more in the fourth meaning of the term).
For the purpose of this diary though, I’m more leaning towards the first two meanings. This election has already done much harm, and will do more harm in the future, so a bit of pre-emptive asking for forgiveness – not necessarily of God, but of our world, our fellow humans, of society – might be in order.
A Litany for America
We confess our failures to one another, to our world, to our society, to our universe, and to ourselves, saying Miserere Nobis (Have mercy upon us).
We have failed our environment, by electing climate change deniers and those who would poison the waters, de-nude the forests, despoil the land, and sell off the country piece by piece to the highest bidder: Miserere Nobis
We have failed our brothers and sisters of color, who will continue to live in fear as those who refuse to see our common humanity will use violence and threats of violence to place themselves in positions of assumed authority: Miserere Nobis
We have failed our LGBTQ brothers and sisters, who now live in fear that the rights they fought for that many of their straight allies take for granted will now be swept away in the name of “Jesus”: Miserere Nobis
We have failed our Islamic friends and neighbors who now live in fear of being moving targets by those who assume that all Muslims are hidden terrorists: Miserere Nobis
We have failed the women of this country, by affirming with this election that their worth is solely in an arbitrary number, and their experiences are either not to be believed or really don’t matter: Miserere Nobis
We have failed “the least of our brothers and sisters” who will now lose the last of the safety nets that started to be shredded 36 years ago: Miserere Nobis
We have failed ourselves, as we descend into blame and finger-pointing rather than looking at how to survive the coming years: Miserere Nobis
Help us to find oceans of sanity in the midst of the craziness; moments of hope in the midst of despair, and our better natures in the midst of the hate: Dona Nobis Pacem
A reminder: there is no such thing as a small Fucking Problem — if you are hurting from any cause, be it electoral, personal, financial, or just general crankiness, please share it here. To quote Callahan’s Law: "Shared pain is lessened; shared joy, increased — thus do we refute entropy."