From one of the most inspiring authors of my generation...
"We are people of both dignity and depravity. The hurricane blew back more than roofs; it blew the mask off the nature of mankind. The main problem in the world is not Mother Nature, but human nature. Strip away the police barricades, blow down the fences, and the real self is revealed. " - Max Lucado
How ironic... the Mardi Gras being what it is with masks and other traditions. To then read this quote. For now, those masks have been taken away. What has been left? True human nature.
Sunday, September 11, 2005
Friday, September 09, 2005
K is for Kindness...
I have to admit... the images on the news and the heart wrenching stories of loss have me angry. I'm mad that our high-tech 21st century communications failed so badly that assistance to the Southeast couldn't have been coordinated for days. But I'm also seething about the bashing of President Bush and our federal government and our aid groups. Every time I turn on the TV I hear our media searching out ways to point the finger in attempts to find someone to blame. Instead of focusing on the hope and the recovery and the good that is now happening in the southeast they point out the negative, the bad, the inhumane...
In fact, the article about how their initial sweep for corpses resulted in way fewer than they thought would be found was such a SMALL article... when the Mayor's initial guesstimate was 10,000... this is GREAT news! Why did it get hidden in the news next to the prediction of which movie would take the box office this weekend?!
Listen... it's not President Bush's fault that Katrina hit. Or that the levees were only built to sustain a category 3 storm didn't hold or that people drowned in their attics. It's not Bush's fault that the city did an emergency response test last year which resulted in enhancement suggestions that were never acted upon. It's not Mayor Ray Nagin's fault that anarchy reigned at the Superdome or that he never formalized the city's "state of emergency" status or that he couldn't coordinate better security at the Superdome or that he's not being the superb leader Guiliani was on 9/11. It's not the residents' fault for not evacuating after the numerous warnings - even though their city is BELOW sea level. It's not Sean Penn's fault that he couldn't rescue more people from their homes because he had so many of his entourage on his boat. It just is. It just is what it is... now let's move on!
How telling have the last fews days been - on both sides. The celebrities coming to the rescue because they felt no one else was. How about the afternoon talk show idol who has always sworn to never get politically involved - she finally has decided to join the crowd by throwing darts at the proverbial Bush dart board. Compare that to the directors of institutions and private business men in San Diego chartering their own planes to rescue evacuees. To the many churches in the New Orleans and Mississippi areas who last month were bickering with each other - who this week are working TOGETHER as ONE body of Christ to help those in need!
NO - it's not at all the media's fault that they have their own agenda or that they don't point out the hope and the grace and the people doing GOOD... instead pointing out who's NOT doing something. It's not Sean Penn's fault that he couldn't rescue more people from their homes because he had so many of his entourage on his boat.
So why are we wasting time pointing out fault and blaming people who aren't truly in control when there's work to be done? Send money, send medical supplies, send people... just send. PRAY and prepare for healing.
While we may not understand how God will bring something good from this disaster - we do know that God is sovereign. And while today we may not understand His master plan... I simply don't think we're supposed to. We should rely on His everlasting grace to restore dignity and humanity and peace and hope to all those in loss. Give to World Vision or Samaritan's Purse or Desire Street or Salvation Army or the American Red Cross or any other humanitarian group you feel is forthright... just don't point any more fingers and suggest that one human doesn't care for another human in their moments of despair.
I'm sick and tired of it.... and I don't think I'm the only one that feels that way...
In fact, the article about how their initial sweep for corpses resulted in way fewer than they thought would be found was such a SMALL article... when the Mayor's initial guesstimate was 10,000... this is GREAT news! Why did it get hidden in the news next to the prediction of which movie would take the box office this weekend?!
Listen... it's not President Bush's fault that Katrina hit. Or that the levees were only built to sustain a category 3 storm didn't hold or that people drowned in their attics. It's not Bush's fault that the city did an emergency response test last year which resulted in enhancement suggestions that were never acted upon. It's not Mayor Ray Nagin's fault that anarchy reigned at the Superdome or that he never formalized the city's "state of emergency" status or that he couldn't coordinate better security at the Superdome or that he's not being the superb leader Guiliani was on 9/11. It's not the residents' fault for not evacuating after the numerous warnings - even though their city is BELOW sea level. It's not Sean Penn's fault that he couldn't rescue more people from their homes because he had so many of his entourage on his boat. It just is. It just is what it is... now let's move on!
How telling have the last fews days been - on both sides. The celebrities coming to the rescue because they felt no one else was. How about the afternoon talk show idol who has always sworn to never get politically involved - she finally has decided to join the crowd by throwing darts at the proverbial Bush dart board. Compare that to the directors of institutions and private business men in San Diego chartering their own planes to rescue evacuees. To the many churches in the New Orleans and Mississippi areas who last month were bickering with each other - who this week are working TOGETHER as ONE body of Christ to help those in need!
NO - it's not at all the media's fault that they have their own agenda or that they don't point out the hope and the grace and the people doing GOOD... instead pointing out who's NOT doing something. It's not Sean Penn's fault that he couldn't rescue more people from their homes because he had so many of his entourage on his boat.
So why are we wasting time pointing out fault and blaming people who aren't truly in control when there's work to be done? Send money, send medical supplies, send people... just send. PRAY and prepare for healing.
While we may not understand how God will bring something good from this disaster - we do know that God is sovereign. And while today we may not understand His master plan... I simply don't think we're supposed to. We should rely on His everlasting grace to restore dignity and humanity and peace and hope to all those in loss. Give to World Vision or Samaritan's Purse or Desire Street or Salvation Army or the American Red Cross or any other humanitarian group you feel is forthright... just don't point any more fingers and suggest that one human doesn't care for another human in their moments of despair.
I'm sick and tired of it.... and I don't think I'm the only one that feels that way...
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