I have been watching and I have been praying, with growing concern, about the state of affairs within this country — that of the United States of America. Before the politicians and the various talking heads in the news media began to express alarm about the threat to the Constitution of the United States, I was made aware of the constitutional crisis that was to come by someone “in the know”. It was during the lead-up to one of the midterm elections that the call to, “Pray for the foundations of this country” came to me.
It was a stunning request — based upon its mysterious nature. As for me, it lacked quite a bit of details. Not only was I in a state of surprise and wonderment about what was being asked of me, I was equally surprised by how the request came to me. And how did it come to me? That would be a story for another time. But, for many months, I mused, “How could I be asked to pray about a matter without being told, up front, what those ‘foundations’ were?”
I called a friend, an old high school mate of mine, one who was also given to prayer, to share with him what had happened. I suggested that we do some research on the matter, but, where were we to begin? It was also explained to me by the one who had instructed me to pray in that manner that what was being asked of me was more fundamental than the politically partisan way in which I had intended to craft my prayer to God. I was told that political elections were like revolving doors with one political party being in today, and then out tomorrow, and the other coming in and then out later on in similar fashion.
The issue at hand was one that transcended my parochial assessment of the state of affairs in the country, as was the case with my limited scope of assessment as to what I thought needed to be done towards solving the problems as I saw them. But, what were those “foundations”? After many months the answer finally came to me, and it had to do with the Constitution of the United States. And so my schoolmate and I began to pray earnestly in that regard.
At the time, there was no COVID-19 pandemic, there was no thought of presidential impeachments, nor of an attempted insurrection at the Capitol building in Washington, DC. All of those were, perhaps, less than kernels of distant nightmares. There was no talk of any “constitutional crises” in the news, but as time went by I noticed that concerns began to be expressed — little by little, here and there, sometimes in the most odd and innocuous of ways — about “the foundations” of the country. And, now, fast-forward to this year, 2025, the concern with respect to the U.S. Constitution is now, pretty much, front and centre, occupying large amounts of time on the airwaves and an inordinate amount of time and space on the Internet.
Had I known, then, what the person had meant by “Pray for the foundations of this country”, as I sat on my couch in my living room one night, over six years ago, I do not know, to be truthful, what I would have done. Perhaps I would have been too overcome with anxiety and would have been much too sick — laid up in a hospital somewhere — to ruminate on the chaos and on the confusion that was to come. Perhaps I would have been among those today who have been expressing a desire, publicly, to migrate to another country where democracy, where the rule of law, where common sense, and where basic civility are preeminent virtues and not just empty talking points used by ambitious demagogues to gain political power.
I recall a memorable road trip that my brother and I had taken from our homes in South Florida to Maryland, in order to visit a cousin of ours, up north. I will never forget the many hours of conversation that we had engaged in while in my brother’s vehicle on that road trip, feeling within our bones that some things of an ominous and of a tragic nature were coming to us, like a storm on the horizon. But we just could not divine what they were likely to be, as much as we put some strain on the limits of our feeble imaginations. Things were coming, but what were they? How and when would they arrive? How would they impact us?
I am an avid reader, always trying to read as widely as I possibly can. In 2024, in addition to offering up prayers for this country and in addition to writing opinion pieces in respect to the U.S. Constitution, I spent money purchasing books and I took the time to read as much of them as possible about the nature of the document and about the history surrounding it. I had been critical of the ignorance of many Americans — especially of those who were born in the country — with respect to what the document actually says and does not say, about how it actually works, and as to what their rights actually are as they have been outlined within it.
Just using sound bites that were aired on television, or on the radio, or on YouTube, by individuals who professed to be experts, did not compose a good recipe for a proper civics education on the subject, at least, not in my humble opinion. Not wanting to fall into the hypocritical category of “do as I say and not as I do” I embarked upon an ambitious project to read as many annotated versions of the U.S. Constitution as possible, before election day in November, and also books which were indirectly related to the topic.
I read The U.S. Constitution – Explained – Clause by Clause – For Every American Today, by Ray Raphael; I read The Constitution Explained – A Guide For Every American, by David L. Hudson, Jr., J.D.; I read the U.S. Constitution for Dummies, by Dr. Michael Arnheim (Constitutional expert); and before reading those books I had read American Law In A Global Context – The Basics, by George P. Fletcher & Steve Sheppard; and I read, A New Introduction To Jurisprudence – Legality, Legitimacy, and The Foundations of The Law, By Paul Cliteur and Afshin Ellian. And still, before having read all those books, I believe that I started to read An Introduction To Constitutional law – 100 Supreme Court Cases Everyone Should Know, by Randy E. Barnett & Josh Blackman, a book that I am yet to finish and that I am still struggling with, and I believe that I know why. It makes absolutely no sense, to my mind, to try and study legal cases without first having a basic and an overarching knowledge of the Constitution itself.
Having knowledge of all that was not just good for me as a citizen, but it also helped to deepen my appreciation for what I was asked to pray about over six years ago. What is happening in the current political climate is not only jarring, it is quite frightening. When I hear or when I read about the proposed policies of the current Administration — which, to my mind, is akin to taking a wrecking ball to a building — I fear for my job, for that of my family members, for that of my friends, for that of my co-workers and for that of the ordinary man in the street. I fear for the sick and for the vulnerable among us whose only means of staying alive, literally, is through the assistance of the Government.
I have a mortgage, I have utility bills, and I have property taxes and insurance premiums to pay. I have to eat and I need clothes for my body and shoes for my feet. I do not want to lose any of those. But, in 2025, my fear of losing our country — especially as it is manifested in the various institutions which were established to protect the Constitution, to maintain law and order, and to administer the several affairs of the country, both domestically and internationally — became much greater than all of those fears.
If I were to become homeless, God forbid, with all of the necessary government institutions fully intact and operating as they should — manned and headed by competent individuals — I would stand a chance of getting back on my feet. I am not even thinking of social service agencies, specifically, especially of those which have been provided by the Government in this instance, but, I was thinking of, in a more general sense, of normalcy in interpersonal relations among the country’s citizens.
It is hard to do anything when everything in life is dystopian in nature. But, if I should find myself destitute, without a viable country, one with guardrails embedded deep into the system, I might, then, never again, see the light of hope and of peace.
And so, what was asked of me over six years ago, “Pray for the foundations of this country”, I find to be far more poignant and far more urgent today, in 2025. I am more concerned about losing this country and about it falling far short of all the ideals that it has aspired towards than I am about losing my job, losing my home and the clothes on my back. Certain activities will mean absolutely nothing if there is no longer a legitimate democratic arena in which they can be conducted. The person who had instructed me to pray about this — one who shall remain nameless for the moment — was full of insight on this matter. By the nature of the what I was told to do or that I was asked to do, I have not seen anybody, among humanity, who is willing enough or who is able enough to address the national exigencies of the hour.
And so, as foolish and as futile as prayer might seem to some people, I have no other viable alternative but to “Pray for the foundations of this country”, and, also, while I am in the process of doing so, to practice the old biblical precept of loving my neighbour as myself.
