In my evening reading I came across a an AP report that has me thinking that a few folks really need to get a life.
As Georgia descends deeper into drought, Gov. Sonny Perdue has ordered water restrictions, launched a legal battle and asked President Bush for help. On Tuesday, the governor will call on a higher power.[...]
The loudest opposition to Perdue’s move has come from the Atlanta Freethought Society, a secular group that is expecting about a dozen of its 125 members to protest at the vigil.
“The governor can pray when he wants to,” said Ed Buckner, who is organizing the protest. “What he can’t do is lead prayers in the name of the people of Georgia.”
While I am all for separation in Church and State, and I am definitely uncomfortable with the idea of my tax dollars supporting religious practices (or worse, an implicit picking-and-choosing of which religious practices to support)…there are some occasions in which you have to ask, “what harm could it do?”
I’d think that a severe drought that, combined with incredibly poor resource planning, has lead to a major metropolitan area coming dangerously close to being out of water, is one of those occasions.
I’d be troubled if Governor Perdue’s prayer service were denominational (both due to the idea of government favoring one faith over another, as well as the practical concern of wanting to make sure that all the bases are covered), but the AJC reports:
Teilhet said the governor’s office has invited spiritual leaders from several faiths and dominations to participate in the service.
To the Freethought folks, I have to say: Get a life! This is one of those times where making a point probably does your message more harm than good.
4 responses so far ↓
1 e-Wanderer // 13 Nov 2007 at 5:31 am
So… the very idea that an elected official who is in charge of one of the states in this country is going to indulge in a primitive, outdated ceremony that originated sometime in the Bronze Age to get rain - and worse yet, that he’ll be accompanied by hundreds of people - doesn’t seem wrong to you? Ye gods, this’ll make us look dumber to the whole world than that time when the Kansas board of education decided to teach religion - oh, sorry - Intelligent Design - in science classes.
…this country is doomed.
2 MikeTheActuary // 13 Nov 2007 at 8:39 am
If the prayer service were seen as the be-all-end-all solution, if a nontrivial amount of resource were being spent on it, or if it were a compulsory activity for local citizens…then yes, I’d be concerned about the reliance on stone- or bronze-age disaster management philosophy.
However, from what I’ve seen (admittedly from almost 1000 miles away)… I stand by my earlier assessment: it can’t hurt.
Another way of looking at it — would you chide an individual or a group for praying for someone being treated serious condition in a hospital. You may choose to not do so, comfortable in the knowledge that medical technology is present and being used as well as possible…but it would be mean-spirited to criticize someone who would seek to add a bit of faith (or hocus-pocus, depending on your viewpoint) to the mix.
3 rps // 14 Nov 2007 at 3:04 am
I’m not a member of the Freethought group nor have I had any association with them prior to yesterday, but I stood by them at the courthouse. Check out the snippets of videos, this was a very sectarian religious ceremony. The Governor may have invited people across a spectrum, but they did not come. I suspect they knew they would not be welcome or fit in. This was a “praise” style of worship that would make most Christians uncomfortable. It was one step away from having an alter call. Police had traffic blocked and re-routed, considerable dollars were spent on this courthouse ceremony.
I suspect people with signs consigned to the fringes of an event will tend to look less than heroic. But check the news stories. They gave the press an in to represent that there was in fact conflict and not everyone was happy about this mess. The leaders gave some excellent quotes. Our Governor is trashing the Constitution but some people cared enough to show up and register their discontent.
I support prayer in churches, homes, on private time. Not in our Government facilities. From my point of view there are only two kinds of people who would object to state sponsored religious ceremonies. 1) Those who don’t think religion is very important, and 2) those who do think religion is very important.
I had to reschedule a lot and take time off. Its 4 hours I won’t be on the beach. I think my life is better for that choice.
4 Revising and Extending My Remarks on Georgia Governor Perdue’s Drought Prayer Service | Mike The Actuary's Musings // 14 Nov 2007 at 11:27 am
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