Posted by: Anne Holmes
Maybe We ALL Should Pray for Rain - 07/19/12 11:55 PM
I just saw an interesting article in the Politico blog, thought I'd share it with you.
It seems that recently Tom Vilsack, the US's Ag Secretary -- and a man I hold I high regard, as I think he did a fantastic job as Iowa's governor a few years back -- was briefing the press on the drought that is affecting the entire country and putting a big hurt on the Midwest's corn crop.
The debilitating effects of this drought are going to be felt nationwide, as this year's corn crop is decimated -- and corn is used as an ingredient in so many products and foodstuffs. More than any of us know, I suspect.
Anyway, according to the stories I've read, Secretary Vilsack commented that he's been adding a prayer for rain to his daily devotionals.
Hearing that, some atheist group I've never heard of before -- the Council for Secular Humanism -- went into an uproar complaining about "separation of church and state."
Specifically, Tom Flynn, their executive director, said, "Vilsack's mention of prayer sends the wrong message to distraught farmers."
"[Praying] for rain? That's not just government entangling itself with religion, that's government publicly practicing it, and wallowing in superstition..."
I don't know about you, but I loved the last paragraph of the Politico article, which noted that: "Oddly, just hours after Vilsack's prayer, Washington D.C. and New York City were inundated by severe thunderstorms and heavy rain."
Imagine that!
It seems that recently Tom Vilsack, the US's Ag Secretary -- and a man I hold I high regard, as I think he did a fantastic job as Iowa's governor a few years back -- was briefing the press on the drought that is affecting the entire country and putting a big hurt on the Midwest's corn crop.
The debilitating effects of this drought are going to be felt nationwide, as this year's corn crop is decimated -- and corn is used as an ingredient in so many products and foodstuffs. More than any of us know, I suspect.
Anyway, according to the stories I've read, Secretary Vilsack commented that he's been adding a prayer for rain to his daily devotionals.
Hearing that, some atheist group I've never heard of before -- the Council for Secular Humanism -- went into an uproar complaining about "separation of church and state."
Specifically, Tom Flynn, their executive director, said, "Vilsack's mention of prayer sends the wrong message to distraught farmers."
"[Praying] for rain? That's not just government entangling itself with religion, that's government publicly practicing it, and wallowing in superstition..."
I don't know about you, but I loved the last paragraph of the Politico article, which noted that: "Oddly, just hours after Vilsack's prayer, Washington D.C. and New York City were inundated by severe thunderstorms and heavy rain."
Imagine that!