John Adams once stated "Facts are stubborn things; and whatever may be our wishes, our inclinations, or the dictates of our passions, they cannot alter the state of facts and evidence." Mark Twain said something similar and even the generally wrong conservative podcaster Ben Shapiro understood "facts don't care about your feelings."
So true- and yet so quaint.
Reacting to the school shooting in Minneapolis on Wednesday, MSNBC host and former press secretary to President Joe Biden:
Prayer is not freaking enough. Prayers does not end school shootings. prayers do not make parents feel safe sending their kids to school. Prayer does not bring these kids back. Enough with the thoughts and prayers.
— Jen Psaki (@jrpsaki) August 27, 2025
Personally, aside from residing to particular claims from the right, I would have confided my comments on this matter to the continuing danger of having firearms in the hands of criminals and individuals seemingly mentally disturbed, including those of Robin Westman. If the turf of religion or theology is not a comfortable one, better to relinquish it to others.
It's territory a little more familiar for Karoline Leavitt, President Trump's press secretary, but she is wrong nonetheless.
Responding to a question about Psaki's remarks, Leavitt, with a captive audience and safely ensconced behind a podium with the immunity conveyed by the cross she prominently sports, charged
I saw the comments of my predecessor and frankly, I think they're incredibly insensitive and disrespectful to the tens of millions of Americans of faith who believe in the power of prayer, who believe that prayer works, and who believe that in a time of mourning like this when beautiful young children were killed while praying in a church. It's utterly disrespectful to deride the power of prayer in this country and it's disrespectful to the millions of Americans of faith who need it now more than ever.
Psaki wisely emphasized her opinion that Psaki's words were "incredibly insensitive and disrespectful." Insensitive and disrespectful reflect conventional wisdom and are solidly- in the words of early 21st century conservatives- politically correct. They are, spoken by the right, ironically critical of sentiment which is politically incorrect. There are few greater sins than being insensitive and disrespectful.
But if the likes of Adams, Twain, and Shapiro (whom, as far as I know, has not weighed in on this issue) are correct, concern about insensitivity and disrespectfulness must give way to the facts. As David Hume understood, "a wise man, therefore, proportions his belief to the evidence."
As should a wise woman, were she also a sincere one, which as Leavitt continually evidences, cannot be any more presumed of a Christian than of a non-Christian. To be clear: being insensitive and disrespectful- which are subjective assessments, anyway- does not preclude an individual from being accurate or correct.
Prayer may indeed be efficacious, though scientific study of it is generally lacking and the question is sufficiently complex that a definitive answer may not be reached by objective analysts for decades, if ever. However, Leavitt is not here claiming anything about the power of prayer. She refers (emphasis mine) to "the millions of Americans of faith who need it now more than ever."
Leavitt is not recommending prayer for the benefit of the individuals murdered and others shot, nor for their loved ones. She's encouraging it for "the millions of Americans," for people in this country writ large. She's arguing that the "need it now more than ever." If Leavitt is not advocating prayer- and she is not- because she believes it will stem school shootings- and she is not- it must raise suspicion that she is touting prayer to divert attention from prevention of such incidents.
And why, pray tell (pun intended), would those Americans need it now more than ever or more than they did a week ago? The obvious answer is that they need it in order to feel better, to be comforted, which should not be the major aim of prayer. As one Pentecostal minister has put it, "The primary purpose of prayer is not to change circumstances; the primary purpose of prayer is to change us! But either way, the chief objective remains the same: to glorify God in any and every situation."
Contrary to Leavitt's accusation, Psaki did not even contend that prayer does not work. She said "prayer is not freaking enough," the unfortunate "freaking" added either in annoyance or to gain a little more attention.
If prayer is effective, it has not ended school shootings nor, for that matter, other violent crime. Moreover, those who call for "thoughts and prayers" are usually individuals who never give a thought to prayer. The larger irony, though, is that Karoline Leavitt speaks, lies, and insults journalists and others for a President who excoriates the the poor, the sick, the homeless, immigrants and even deceased veterans. When adorned with a cross and proclaiming her Christian faith, Leavitt stands before the media and public, she should ponder how that fits in with the words and desire of the founder and cornerstone of her church.
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