As reported in the San Francisco Chronicle, community organizer, Rocky Twyman, held a pray-in at a Chevron station in San Francisco to seek supernatural assistance in lowering gas prices. This was not an isolated event, as Twyman held pray-ins in Washington DC and Oakland too.
"God is the only one we can turn to at this point," said Twyman, 59. "Our leaders don't seem to be able to do anything about it. The prices keep soaring and soaring."Absolutely. Since many people refuse to stop voting Republican no matter what it does to their economic self-interest, they do indeed have few options remaining.
When the politicians they elected primarily for their stance on manufactured "values issues" refuse to help them with real economic problems, learned helplessness sets in. That is, because nothing they have tried has made a difference, they stop trying. This is precisely where prayer comes in. An interesting PR strategy to be sure, but any success it brings will be due to raising awareness rather than supernatural intervention.
In fairness to Twyman, he sounds like a decent guy. He's clear-headed enough to realize that prayer is not going to solve this problem. Unlike some who would follow this path, he is not looking to prayer to replace action. If his efforts manage to call attention to how high gas prices are affecting those least able to afford them, then more power to him.
Tags: prayer, gas prices, grocery tax, Mississippi, Republican, religion