In his opening prayer for the new, 117th Congress, Rep. Emanuel Cleaver (D., MO) offered a memorable prayer “in the name of the monotheistic God Brahma and God.”
At first, I thought Mr. Cleaver had privileged monotheists!
Which would be narrow minded and insensitive to polytheists.
But now I am not sure. I don’t know enough about Brahma, who appears to be one among several gods in the Hindu pantheon. I wonder how many people sitting in the House could help me with this riddle.
Anyway, that is not what is getting the attention. Cleaver, who was ordained as a Methodist minister, ended with “amen and a- woman.”
Rep. Cleaver may be attempting to be woke, but this is nonsensical.
When one says “amen” at the end of a prayer, one is saying, “I believe this, I give this my assent.” The word “amen” has nothing to do with sex.
Amen is derived from an ancient word of Hebrew origin that means “so be it.”
Ben Shapiro captured the problematic nature of Mr. Cleaver’s locution in a tweet, which called it “some of the dumbest sh-t I have ever seen in my life. Shapiro tweeted:
“Amen” is a Biblical Hebrew word: אמן. It is a word simply meaning “may it be so.” It has nothing to do with the word “man” or “woman” because it is FROM HEBREW. This is some of the dumbest s*** I have ever seen in my life.
Rep. Cleaver’s woke prayer comes on the heels of Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s proposing new rules that, she says, “honor all gender identities” by eliminating such specific terms as mother and father, son and daughter, and aunt and uncle.
The New York Post continues:
Instead, only gender-neutral terms such as “parent,” “child,” “sibling” and “parent’s sibling” would be allowed in the text of the House rules, according to the proposed changes.
The proposed changes—which also include the establishment of a House “Office of Diversity and Inclusion”—will be voted on after the House convenes Sunday for the new 117th Congress.
There are also, not surprisingly, provisions that would make it harder for Republicans to have input in legislation and the legislative process.
I can’t help thinking that all these shenanigans will be good for Republicans.
Out of touch Democrats think that people yearn for more diversity offices and absurd strictures on normal language, even in this time, when many Americans are desperate because of extreme economic woes.
Only people who are involved in internecine power squabbles on the Hill, teach in elite colleges, or have the resources to comfortably set out lockdowns are able to achieve this level of detachment from reality.