The state of Georgia, like much of the southeast this year, has experienced well-below-average rainfall, and drought conditions there have forced some water usage limitations to be enacted until enough of the wet stuff falls from the sky to replenish supplies.
(No, I’m not bringing this up with a global warming angle in mind, though there are certainly connections to be made.)
Governor Sonny Perdue and other officials have been going back and forth with the Army Corps of Engineers over possible shortcomings in the handling of the water supply there and how to address them, as is certainly an appropriate thing to be doing.
What caught my attention today was an article mentioning the governor’s plan to alleviate the drought through prayer. Yes, a prayer service will be held at the state capitol next week to try to bring the rain.
“The only solution is rain, and the only place we get that is from a higher power,” Perdue spokesman Bert Brantley said on Wednesday.
I’m going to assume that when he uses the term “higher power”, Bert isn’t referring to the complex interactions of winds, temperatures, sunlight, and tidal forces that shape our worldwide weather patterns.
Of course they’ve scheduled this rite on a day when rain is actually in the forecast, so if a few drops do come down they can proclaim, “It’s a miracle!” Failing that, they can wait until it does rain, and still proclaim, “It’s a [delayed] miracle!”
Perdue’s office has sent out invitations to leaders from several faiths for the service, set for Tuesday.
Why not just open it to the public? Invite everyone, and make it a festival with a good old-fashioned rain dance! That way it’ll be useless and interesting and maybe even fun – instead of just useless.