Prayer won't solve water shortage

Thanks to Georgia governor Sonny Perdue, we no longer just have to worry about whether our routine water consumption habits are conscientious enough to prevent our state from going dry in a few months. Now we also have to deal with the entire world laughing at us in the process after the governor held a vigil on the capitol steps to literally pray for rain.

To illustrate just how ridiculous this is, I have a thought experiment for you to try. Suppose you do zero studying for your final exams next month. In fact, suppose you stop showing up to all your lectures from now on and throw away all the notes you've taken in the previous classes. Simply forget about school until finals. But then, to make it all better, suppose you say a prayer for yourself before each test, asking for divine guidance in choosing which circles to fill in on the ScanTron sheet and concocting short-answer responses that fall just outside the grader's B.S.-detection radar.

How do you think you'd do? Would you make the Dean's list or would the Institute drop-kick you back to your parents' basement forever?

The answer is pretty clear and nobody would be tempted to carry that experiment out in reality. Prayer simply doesn't work that way. Whether you are religious or not, a minimal amount of common sense and a couple years of experience as a resident of planet Earth should be enough to show that you cannot call upon the universe's direct, telepathic help-line for something you need and have it simply willed into being. All things happen for a reason, and when you want things to happen your way you need to act intelligently and responsibly and with a purpose. If you want to pray for guidance in doing that, I think you'll find yourself enjoying a bit more success than simply requesting a cosmic fast-forward to the results you seek.

For instance, if you are the governor of a certain southeastern American state, and data shows that you are in the midst of an historic drought, you probably should start looking for some workable plans that can prevent your state's residents from suffering a devastating water shortage. Perhaps if you are so inclined you'd like to pray for wisdom as you gather the facts you need to enact prudent water conservation policies, and the courage to see to it that the policies are enacted early enough to make a difference.

Somewhere along the way Perdue decided to veer from the path of sensibility, with the departure culiminating on Tuesday when he led a vigil where he and hundreds of others made a desperate plea to divine authority asking simply for rain to pour down on the region. Never mind the fact that even a week of rain will not be enough to put a dent in the drought we're in. Perdue and the others apparently believed that the divine can be bargained with, has been purposely withholding liquid sustenance from the southeast, and will only give it back when asked nicely.

It is understandable to feel like all other possibilities have been explored and that we need to start pursuing last resorts, no matter how remote their chances for success, but surrendering is actually the worst thing we can do right now. Yet, such despair was the attitude that seemed to pervade the prayer vigil.

The attendants did not go there to pray for wisdom or for guidance as they attempt to settle this mess themselves. They apologized to the sky and expected their woes to be washed away by the oncoming torrent of rain provided by their merciful master who was only waiting for a simple, well-publicized request.

That is what makes this not just a silly show of grandstanding by Perdue, who is rumored to have ambitions for a higher office, and moves it into the realm of truly obnoxious behavior. The saddest part is that by using religious language he was able to color this act of surrender as something that many of his constituents will perceive as honorable and commendable.

Forgive me if I consider this whole situation an embarrassment to twenty-first century mankind. Just a few miles from the capitol, engineers, scientists and scholars at Tech are actively studying all kinds of problems facing our world and researching viable solutions. Their efforts yield tremendous benefits; organized prayers like Perdue's are just a distraction and give people a false sense of accomplishment. How many of those people who showed up and prayed, and others following along at home, now feel like they no longer need to use water responsibly because their prayers will solve the problem?

The severity of this drought demands that we proceed intelligently with a reality-based strategy, not organized prayers that accomplish nothing.

We don't need to ask for divine intervention to solve problems like this water shortage; those who think we do need to quit playing make-believe and get a grip with reality before Lake Lanier turns into Lanier Crater and riots break out at Publix over the last remaining stock of bottled water.