May 1. Law Day. National Day of Prayer. With American forces a world away and still in a war-like and hostile environment, May begins as a time of reflection about our foundations. A system of laws and a commitment to prayer are pillars.

On this day, the two come together with eyes on what is happening in Iraq.

Americans have fought and died in that country, to protect our nation from foreign threats and also to liberate the people there from a regime that brutalized them and threatened our nation. The goal now is give to the Iraqis a foundation of freedom that could lead to a nation of laws. The possibility is there if the people of Iraq can seize the moment.

A system of laws separates civilization from anarchy.

The laws of the state ensure protection for the public and are the rules of our society. Violators are taken to criminal court, where the state must prove them guilty. Only then are they to be punished. Consider the difference in Saddam Hussein's Iraq.

Disputes between individuals get their day in court, too. People aren't to settle matters in the streets. Civil court gives those in dispute a forum to make their cases. A jury of peers decides liability or lack thereof.

As former S.C. Chief Justice Ernest Finney says, there are plenty of faults in the U.S. legal system, but it's the best in the world and the best the world has seen.

Prayer, too, is an American fundamental. Forget for a moment the differences between Muslim and Christian and Jew and other major religions. America is a melting pot nation with a governmental system designed no more to embrace one religion over another than to exclude religious influence in its system of laws and government. Freedom includes religious freedom -- and that means freedom to include religion as part of the American fabric.

National Prayer Day in Orangeburg this year features a special event. The annual Mayor's Prayer Breakfast is this morning. It will reflect these unique times.

Capt. Charles D. Wood, chaplain, who serves as the chaplain's resource manager for Fort Jackson in Columbia, will be the guest speaker.

"Any time the nation is at war ... it is important to contemplate our relationship with God and our prayer life," Wood said of his Orangeburg message. "There is always a tension when we go to war. ... We want peace, but sometimes war is necessary for providing lasting peace."

Mayor Paul Miller echoes the chaplain: "This year more than ever with the world situation, I felt that the time was right for us to have another community prayer breakfast. With May 1 being the National Day of Prayer, it is appropriate that we have this breakfast at this time. I hope that the Orangeburg community can come together to show our support for our troops, our nation and our community."

With a crowd of 200 or more expected, the breakfast will be a celebration of prayer and patriotism. Fitting on a day that spotlights the foundations of a nation that continues to be a source of hope for so much of the world.

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