The American Spectator

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The Nation's Pulse

(Page 2 of 2)

The stories could not be celebratory. Instead they did the math in the aftermath. True, it rained, but not enough. Yes, a full inch throughout northern Georgia, but that is hardly an inroad along the long road ahead. "No significant long-term benefit," the meteorologist hastens to dispel the gratitude. "A little bit of extra water," you see, in the "smaller reservoirs and tributaries"; nothing to write home about.

Contrast this with the view of Maimonides, a pretty decent scientist in his own right: "This is among the ways of penitence. At a time that a disaster befalls, and people cry out, everyone will know that because of their misbehavior things have gone badly. This will cause the crisis to be withdrawn. But if they do not cry out, instead saying this thing is part of the way of the world and this trouble is an incidental occurrence, that is a cruel approach. It causes them to cling to their misdeeds. Then that trouble will bring other troubles in its wake." (Laws of Public Fast Days, 1:2-3)

The truth is most Americans are not as callous, nor have such callused souls, as your journeyman journalist type. They believe there is a Providential hand nudging their fate in generally salubrious directions. To affirm this, Thanksgiving was instituted. Yet in recent times there has been a weakness in the area of self-examination during times of crisis. We have trouble bestirring ourselves to follow the example of the King of Nineveh in the Book of Jonah, to get off our thrones and rethink our policies for living.

The old Atlanta Braves had only two strong starting pitchers, occasioning the classic ditty about their four-game plan: "Spahn, Sain, pray for rain." The Braves have learnt how to win since then without such pluvial intervention; that is no reason to jettison the devotional lesson of how to draw that Georgia Rain. Pray today, give thanks tomorrow. Remember also that prayer is not only a means to an end, as Maimonides explains, it must catalyze each of us into reflecting upon our priorities.

I admire Governor Perdue's courage; he is no chicken like Mike Tyson. Long may he perdure.

topics:
Religion, Law