Pray your way through everything to solve little

Pence for Coronavirus President

By Morgan Hannah, Life & Style Editor

Let me start by saying that many churches do engage in great work, and donations to legitimate congregations are helpful—but today we aren’t talking about religion that feeds the poor and hands out kindness. Instead, we’re talking about the ones that prey on the devout. Not always for their money—sometimes, it’s about controlling action, or inaction.

There is no issue with being devout, but everyone should find the fine line between having faith that your God will help you out in times of need, and knowing when you’ve gotta lead the way in solving pressing issues. That line isn’t always clear, which is why it’s important to listen to your gut and act when in dangerous situations. Act first, pray later.

Speaking of dangerous situations, Mike Pence—a hardline religious conservative and well-known political figure—

has been put in charge of the coronavirus task force in the US.

News across every platform has been blowing up with Coronavirus this and Coronavirus that for awhile now. Hand sanitizer, face masks (which don’t actually prevent you from contracting the virus, by the way), and toilet paper have been flying off of shelves worldwide. Fear-mongering is in the air! And guess what Pence is doing about it? Nothing! Well, not nothing. He’s praying.

In some cases, praying could offer great support and help—but with this emergency, not so much. This is one of those times where immediate action is required to prevent further spread of a new virus that we don’t know much about yet. Bowing our heads and praying away the virus isn’t going to help anyone. It is a very unproductive response to the situation.

 If anyone requires proof as to why praying for the virus to go away isn’t going to work, they need not go any further than 2015, when Pence was Governor and was charged with overseeing Indiana’s HIV crisis. According to the Rolling Stone, “the closing of a Planned Parenthood facility and cutting funding for needle exchanges were seen as major causes of the states history’s worst HIV epidemic.”

During a press briefing, Pence was challenged to see if he would be part of passing legislation for a temporary needle-exchange program. He replied “I’m going to go home and pray on it.” Is this really the guy that should be handling a serious situation like the Coronavirus? He obviously fucked up his last gig and that’s something that cannot be ignored, despite the high praise US President Trump lavished Pence with.

Coronavirus is currently accountable for more than 4,000 deaths and has affected over 100,000 people worldwide according to Worldometer. Over 60,000 people have recovered from the virus—however, not one of them was saved by prayer.

It is nonsensical to rely on something as personal and passive as prayer for hard results. Prayer is a great way to connect with your God, find inner peace, and enrich your faith… but it won’t cure the world of a virus. Someone with an actual attack plan should be in charge of saving lives. Prayers can’t be the first solution considered.