God Wasn't My Copilot, He Was Working the Control Tower

By now, most of you have heard the story of the US Air flight that made an emergency landing in the Hudson River. After listening to endless reports about the incident, the continued talk about prayer during the crash began to trouble me. Not so much with the people on the plane; I've never been on a crashing plane and I can't imagine what that would be like. It was more the newscasters and eyewitnesses, who made quite a show of their prayers for the plane's passengers. And it wasn't even the immediate good intentions of the people praying that troubled me; certainly, anyone witnessing the tragedy would want to do something to help. What really annoys me is the implication that showy praying has: "Dear God(s), in the past you've seen fit to allow fiery plane crashes, but we've been such good Christians/Jews/Musilms/Hindus/Zoroastrians/etc. that we really think you should save these folks." But even more annoying than that angle is the implication that if you choose not to pray, you don't want the people aboard to survive. I think that from a functional standpoint, there is reason to think positively in times of crisis - that is my "prayer". It would be nice for at least someone to acknowledge that there are those of us who choose not to call in divine favors as a solution to great troubles, and that it's ok to be one of those people. Choosing not to pray doesn't necessarily make you a Godless heathen, but it does mean you at least choose to embrace a more adult relationship with the almighty. And those of us that feel that way, we should let people know that there's nothing wrong with that position, and that we don't care for the victims any less than the praying folk.