*'s Yom Kippur Prayer for forgiveness.

[LiberalinNC]

Not like any of these words would ever come out of his mouth!



The Al Cheit prayer for forgiveness is one of the key moments in the
Yom Kippur service. This particular one is most appropriate and the most
unlikely, given that it would be Bush asking for forgiveness.


High Holy Days Confessional by George W. Bush

For the sin I have committed before you by promising to be a
compassionate conservative, but showing no compassion.

For the sin I have committed before you by waging an unjust war in Iraq
in the false name of fighting terrorism.

For the sin I have committed before you by waging a political campaign
built on fear, not hope.

For the sin I have committed before you by cynically exploiting the
horrors of 9/11 for political gain.

For the sin I have committed before you by ignoring the plight of the
poorest and weakest among our citizens.

For the sin I have committed before you by the unnecessary deaths of
2,000 young Americans, the injuries to thousands more, and the deaths
and injuries to untold numbers of Iraqis.

For the sin I have committed before you by lying about my record of
service in the National Guard.

For these sins, oh forgiving God, forgive me, pardon me, grant me
atonement.


For the sin I have committed before you by dividing rather than uniting
our people.

For the sin I have committed before you by ignoring the loss of over
one million jobs in the U.S.

For the sin I have committed before you by doing nothing to provide
health insurance to millions of Americans, and to stem rapidly rising
prescription medicine and other health care costs.

For the sin I have committed before you by systematically weakening
environmental and pollution regulations, thereby endangering public
health and destroying precious wilderness resources.

For the sin I have committed before you by promising to leave no child
behind, and then failing to adequately fund educational programs.

For the sin I have committed before you by allowing the assault weapons
ban to die, allowing these grotesque weapons to return to our streets.

For the sin I have committed before you by bearing false witness about
the reasons for going to war in Iraq.

For the sin I have committed before you by perpetuating the falsehood
that increasing homeland security requires a weakening of civil rights.


For the sin I have committed before you by imposing a veil of secrecy
on government decision making processes.

For these sins, oh forgiving God, forgive me, pardon me, grant me
atonement.


For the sin I have committed before you by allowing the ends to justify
any means.

For the sin I have committed before you by lowering taxes for only the
very wealthiest Americans, enriching the few at the expense of the many.


For the sin I have committed before you by running a cynical and
destructive presidential campaign, designed to destroy rather than just
defeat my opponent.

For the sin I have committed before you by fighting a war in Iraq to
divert attention from failures in the just war on terrorists, and from
failing to act against the looming nuclear threat from Iran and North
Korea.

For the sin I have committed before you by failing to make any progress
in achieving a just peace between Israel and the Arabs.

For the sin I have committed before you by turning a massive government
surplus into a massive deficit in less than four years, thereby
burdening future generations with untold debt.

For the sin I have committed before you by unnecessarily damaging
relations with American friends and allies throughout the world.

For these sins, oh forgiving God, forgive me, pardon me, grant me
atonement.


For the sin I have committed before you by promoting a personal
ideology rather than the interests of the people.

For the sin I have committed before you by arrogance and swagger,
speaking with a forked tongue, and for the haughty exercise of power.

For the sin I have committed before you by appointing arch-conservative
judges to the federal judiciary.

For the sin I have committed before you by irresponsibly damaging the
reputation of the United States throughout the world.

For the sin I have committed before you by enriching my friends in the
conduct of government and military affairs.

For the sin I have committed before you by encouraging xenophobia on
the part of the American people.

For the sin I have committed before you by attempting to impose my
extreme religious and moralistic values on the entire nation, and
weakening the separation between church and state.

For the sin I have committed before you by characterizing all who
oppose me as evil, and all who agree with me as good.

And for the sin I have committed before you by failing to acknowledge
my responsibility for all these sins, for attempting to blame others for
them, and for all the injury and damage they have caused to individuals,
the Nation, and the future.

For these sins, oh forgiving God, forgive me, pardon me, grant me
atonement.

[WritingIsMyReligion]

1. And that just scratches the surface...

If Bush had to confess each of his sins, the synagogue (before he burned it down in a fit of "Jesus-Told-Me-So" schizophrenia, that is) would be there even longer than usual!

[rosesaylavee]

2. I wish he WERE Jewish - seeking forgiveness is just not

part of his temperament.

There is also that step in AA where the alcoholic seeks to make amends too. I wish he were a recovering alcoholic attending AA regularly.

And then there is that sacrament of Confession practiced by the Catholics. That works well for them. Wish he were Catholic.

I wish now he had SOME spiritual practice that would help him grow a conscious. Problem with fundamental Christianity - lots of talk and little expectation of action involved in it. That's why its so popular - doesn't ask a lot of its followers.

[WritingIsMyReligion]

3. Confession never worked for me...

I always thought it was fucked up beyond belief. Did it maybe twice and refused to go back. How does this obscure "Father" know what's best for me? I think I can figure it out myself, thanks...

Organized religion really is the opiate of the masses.

[rosesaylavee]

5. It works for some people - I would just wish he

had something that would nudge him toward doing what is right. Never saw a public figure so out of touch with 'doing the right thing'. My post was more about finding or suggesting that path for him - rather than promoting one over the other.

[unhappycamper]

4. LiberalinNC:

Please be aware that DU copyright rules require that excerpts of copyrighted material be limited to four paragraphs and must include a link to the original source.

Thanks,

unhappycamper
DU Moderator

[MaineDem]

6. I assumed the OP was original work

Based on a Jewish tradition.

:shrug:

[LiberalinNC]

7. Yes it was! Friend made it up to fit into the holiday of Yom Kippur!

[unhappycamper]

10. It does not appear to be original:

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=%22High+Holy+Days+Confessional+%22&btnG=Google+Search

[abluelady]

8. Do Evangelical Christians need to be forgiven?

:sarcasm:

[shenmue]

9. Bravo

Of course, he would never do it, not in a billion years, but it's a stirring prayer nonetheless.

:applause:

I would just die of shock if he ever says he's sorry about anything. We're dealing with an out-and-out sociopath.

If he had to go around apologizing to everyone he had offended this year...he'd need until this time next year.