Governor’s rally is the wrong Response

Gov. Rick Perry will be holding a prayer and fasting rally on August 6 at Reliant Stadium to further endear himself to evangelicals. Perhaps it is an attempt to energize his voter base ahead of a potential presidential run, a way for him to distinguish himself from a group of candidates whose religious views would make most evangelicals cringe.

Or maybe it is just another way for him to expose himself to censure and further embarrass the Lone Star state.

He has named the rally “The Response: a call to prayer for a nation in crisis,” and has written on the event’s website that it is a response to the financial crisis, natural disasters and the various wars that our nation is involved in. He has invited all other US governors to the rally. Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback has already said that he will be in attendance, and he is likely furious that he did not think of this idea first.

“There is a hope for America. It lies in heaven, and we will find it on our knees,” wrote Perry on the rally’s website. This is startling imagery, especially since Perry was elected to govern all Texans.

And the website makes it very clear which God participants will be praying to because the only reference towards a deity is made towards Jesus.

The rally is being sponsored by the American Family Association (AFA), a Christian advocacy organization that has been named a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center.

The AFA is currently urging its members to participate in a boycott of the Home Depot due to its support of gay rights.

In such a time of crisis, should Perry be making such a polarizing move? He is obviously free to associate with whomever he likes and pray to whichever deity he desires, but he should do so with discretion.

This is a move that is meant to alienate certain people. The event defines certain people as the cause of a problem and others a part of the solution. It establishes the church vs. the world dichotomy on a state level, and blurs the lines between church and state.

Is this Perry’s solution to the mess he and his party have made of this state? Texans should be furious that Perry has decided to hold this rally. It the Governor’s responsibility to find solutions to our state’s problems through reason, not through praying to his deity.