While You're At It, Could You Also Pray For Calorie-Free Chocolate?

As all of you know (unless you've been living in a cave without access to CNN, Fox News, or Ms. Katie Couric) Georgia is under an exceptional drought. I think I heard that if our lack-of-rain levels continue, our main reservoir, Lake Lanier, will go dry within nine months. Hell, I don't know if that's true or just a bunch of fear-mongering. What I do know is that we are, in fact, in the middle of a pretty nasty drought. What I also know is that our governor, Sonny Perdue, stood today on the steps of the Georgia state Capitol, along with other Georgia lawmakers, and prayed for rain. Let the public outcry begin!

I once vowed, when I began this blog, that it would not be a political/religious/hot-button topic type of blog. This is a place for me to be the neurotic mommy that I am; this is a place for me just to purge my twisted thoughts and mommy frustrations. Hey, it's cheaper than therapy. But this, I need to vent about.

This country has become so damned touchy and I'm over it! Gee, like an idiot, I put my hot coffee from McDonald's in between my legs, while driving my car, and it burned me! Poor me, I deserve millions! We aren't allowing our schools or government buildings to display Christmas trees because they are symbols of a religious holiday. What-the-F-ever. Joe Doughnut broke into a home to steal a TV and jewelry, was shot by the owner, and is suing the owner for damages. Puleeze! It's too bad you didn't bleed to death! I'M OVER IT, PEOPLE! So friggin' over it that I can't even speak and it makes me stutter and spit in frustration.

The Atlanta Freethought Society protested at the governor's public prayer, with the organizer (Ed Buckner) stating, "The governor can pray when he wants to. What he can't do is lead prayers in the name of the people of Georgia." You know what Ed? Fuck off. There, I used the F word on my blog. Whew! I feel better already.

I'm a deist. Don't know what that is? Click here to find out. Simply put, I don't go to church. I believe in God and I believe that it (that's right, I feel that such an omnipotent/omniscient being such as God wouldn't be associated with a gender) is responsible for our universe's creation, but I don't believe in the dogma of any faith or church. In my opinion (and, as we all know, opinions are like a-holes - everybody has one and everyone thinks that everyone else's stinks), dogma and religious beliefs bog us down when what we should do is simply be thankful for our lives and our existences. Now, this is not an invitation for all you readers to try to convert me. Not going to happen. I've had the Catholic, Jehovah's Witness, Mormon, Protestant talks. I'm over it. I may not be a believer in religion or religious beliefs, but I am a red, white, and blue all over American. I firmly believe in our Constitution and in the spirit of the American people. What I'm trying to tell you is that even though I don't pray, that doesn't mean that others shouldn't and if others feel the need to pray on my behalf, I'm not going to complain about it. They aren't causing me any harm and they believe they are helping me, with the best of intentions. So, OK, pray away.

If Gov. Perdue wishes to pray to God on behalf of all Georgians for rain, go for it big guy! The last time I checked, our Constitution protects Gov. Perdue and his actions. I quote:

Amendment I - Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press, or the right of the people to peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

The First Amendment says it all. Gov. Perdue and the Georgia lawmakers who attended him this morning had the right to exercise their religious beliefs and had the right to peaceable assembly. The last time I checked, Gov. Perdue and said lawmakers pay Georgia taxes, a portion of which pay for our Capitol building. Therefore, they have a right to peaceably assemble on the Capitol steps and practice their religious right to pray. I could have done the same thing and not received any press, because I'm not a public figure. There are probably hundreds, if not thousands of fellow Georgians praying for rain on our behalf who aren't being reported about in the news because they are average, ordinary people.

Now, I know, I know, the Atlanta Freethought Society also has the right to peaceably assemble and protest Gov. Perdue's public prayer. That's what is so great about this country. What pisses me off is that everyone in this country seems to be so damned sensitive about religion, about not offending anyone, that there has been a negative backlash against the very faith upon which this country was founded. As much as some people hate to admit it, our Founding Fathers were predominantly Protestant Christians and invoked God during their creation of this fine country. Because of our ridiculous "PC" sensitivity, to be a Christian in this country is to have to be apologetic and secretive of your faith for fear that someone is going to take away your faith's symbols and mock your beliefs. That is just crazy and, dare I say it, prejudiced. It's OK to mock Christianity but holy crap, look out for the backlash if you smirk at a follower of Islam or if you look at an atheist the wrong way.

You know what? I don't believe that the prayer helped. I believe that it will rain when the natural order of this planet Earth, when the wind currents, and pressure systems, finally align in the proper way to allow the rain to fall. I don't believe there will be divine intervention. I believe that, weather being the chaotic, mathematically unpredictable system that it is, we will get the much-needed rain when it damn-well "feels" like getting here. But, I certainly won't begrudge my governor for praying on my behalf for the rain. What if I'm wrong? What if God is responsible for the rain? Since I won't pray for it, someone has to. So, go for it. And everybody, quit being so damned touchy and get back to what really matters in this country, what our Forefathers wanted for us... Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness.

That and the Pursuit of Calorie-Free Chocolate.