Governor Perry's Day Of Prayer

On Saturday, August 6, 2011, in Houston, Texas governor Rick Perry led an all-day event called "The Response".
What was it? It was a day-long prayer service not only asking God's intervention in dealing with the on-going national crisis, but also one of repentance for the nation's sins.

Before I continue on I will say that, essentially, one has to admire Gov. Perry for having such strong spiritual and moral beliefs and for adhering to such so loyally and resolutely.

That said, there's one discrepancy:  namely the fact that this man is a public (and publically-elected) official.  Specifically the governor of a state.  As such, there is the general expectation of providing service to the entirety of said given state (in this case, the state of Texas).  And while it is expected that every individual, no matter who, will have their given set of personal beliefs and viewpoints, it is always the duty of a public official to see to it that their personal beliefs never interfere with or bias their appointed duties of serving a diverse collective general populace.

No doubt there are plenty of individuals living in the "lone star" state whose personal beliefs differ quite a bit from those of Gov. Perry's.  How are they to feel and what are they to think when the governor of the state they live in is utilizing his paid services to perform religious ceremonies catering to a select demographic sector of which they are not part of?

Now, it would be perfectly acceptable for Gov. Perry to make public his personal beliefs in a casual off-the-record manner---one in which he is simply proclaiming just what he himself beliefs in his own personal life.  But that's not what he did---he "politicized" what should actually be part of his private life.

To further make my point, picture this:  We know, for example, that the late John F. Kennedy was a Catholic---right?  And we also know he NEVER mingled his own religious beliefs with his duties as then-President of the United States.  But, what if---for example---he did?  Let's say that, for example, every time one of the early Apollo missions blasted off from Cape Canaveral he would hold a vigil on the White House lawn in which candles were lit in a gesture of "asking for a blessing"---a ritual often performed by those belonging to that particular religious faith.

What Gov. Perry did in the name of his Christian faith is really no different in it's nature than that above fictitious scenario.