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January 05, 2005A Little Perspective
It’s just unreal the numbers. And is it just me, or does it almost seem like the financial relief effort is an auction to the highest bidder? Ever since it was falsely declared that Americans were stingy, it seems like countries have been competing to give the most money. This isn’t to say that more money towards the relief effort is a bad thing, although I think the whole “we’re the biggest givers” complex is a bit disheartening. In the case of America, I don’t necessarily think our substantial giving garners us a pat on the back, much less a chocolate chip cookie. We’re a blessed country that has been given much and therefore much should be required. We shouldn’t get special brownie points for holding up our end of an expectation. The thing that’s really struck me is how unimaginable the loss of life is to our puny understanding of “tragedy”. As a precursor, what I am about to say in no way diminishes the blood spilled on September 11th. When two terrorist planes hit and destroyed the Twin Towers, early predictions of lives lost were in the low thousands. The thought of that was more than many Americans could bare. The big difference between September 11th and the Asian Tsunamis is that one was a terrorist attack while the other was a “natural” disaster. That of course depends on your definition of “natural” and your definition of “terror”. Still, with the ultimate September 11th carnage being less than 5,000 lives lost, many Americans were convinced that we had just experienced the worse loss of life in the entire universe. And while even one life lost is significant, I think our outlook on things bares a bit of perspective. I don’t pretend to know and understand the reasons why God allows certain events to take place, but I tend to think that humanity is more at fault than anyone would like or care to believe. More on that later. With current estimates in the hundreds of thousands with far too many unaccounted for, we cannot even fathom that type of destruction. The value on human life doesn’t go up when it happens to Americans. In the least cliché way possible, we must reaffirm to ourselves the sanctity of human life. I found myself in observation mode late yesterday afternoon as I stood in Concourse B baggage claim of the Dallas Fort Worth Airport. I was hot, edgy and exhausted when I saw a young man, no older than 30-years-old, reuniting with his entire family after what was clearly a long distance and time of separation. There were many tears. Forget the security hassles, and losing luggage, this was the stuff airports were made for. Meanwhile, I stood next to a man who donned an old and tattered “I’m a Vietnam Veteran” hat. He was with his teenage son. Right before our eyes, hundreds of Army soldiers began walking by with their tickets in hand, on their way to help in some international relief, I’m sure. Many of them stopped to shake the vet’s hand, thanking him for all he did in Vietnam. The man’s son couldn’t have been more proud of his father. Life is indeed precious. Today, thousands of children are left parentless and parents left childless. Siblings have been left sibling-less, and families broken apart. I often ponder the importance of my own family. Sometimes, out of selfishness, I’ve wished that I didn’t love them as much as I do because then if something ever happened to them, I’d be spared my own pain and suffering. Yet at the same time, I’d die for every single one of them. It occurs to me that God didn’t make a mistake when He designed human beings to need love and interaction with other human beings. It’s a privilege to have a loving family and relationships of depth and meaning. More than anyone, Americans should know what it’s like to feel vulnerable. What a tremendous time for us to step outside ourselves and consider someone else. The good news is that historically, every great revival followed a major disaster. Protestant Reformation, Azusa, you name it. God’s will be done. Comments Posted by: Gerard E. at January 5, 2005 05:47 AM Ambra! Can we say "suck?"! Posted by: Johnnie at January 5, 2005 06:33 AM "Unimaginable" is certainly the word to use. There really isn't anything that I could say about it that would be adequate. I "participated" in the eruption of Mt. Pinatubo and saw that destruction first hand. As bad as I had it, with an infant to care for and dehydrated enough to be stupid, I still was aware of all the ways in which I was fortunate. I could leave, for one. The ash-fall collapsed the palm trees like umbrellas and the houses like tin-foil. The scope of the tsunami makes that volcano look like an inconsequential hiccup of the earth. What it isn't, though, is comparable to 9-11, and I wish people wouldn't make that comparison. It always, to me, seems to imply that the two events have something in common. They don't. More people die in traffic accidents, right? 9-11 really was not about the number of dead people, even if so many were willing to ignore the embassy bombings and other events where terrorists killed only a handful of people at a time. It's the difference between dying, as one of my classmates did, when a hay bale fell on him, a stupid accident, or as Polly Klas did, victim of criminal malice. One makes the news and generates public outrage and the other doesn't. We generally understand that "dying" and being "murdered" are two entirely different things. Does this comfort the widow of my classmate? It's not supposed to. Human tradgedy happens one person at a time no matter how large or small the total numbers. The human cost of the tsunami can not be repaired. Not now, and not ever. The aid given can help prevent additional human cost by providing food and medical assistance and helping to rebuild communities and the infrastructure necessary for people to live and work. The enormity of it can't be grasped but, truly, it is one mother trying to find food *this moment* for her children, one child without parents trying to find a safe place *this moment* to sleep for the night. Tomorrow doesn't exist during something like that, only *now*. The Abraham Lincoln, incidentally, was one of the ships that evacuated Americans from the Philipines 13 years ago. At least one baby was born on that ship. My son and I were on the USS Merril. There really is nothing that those Navy guys like better than to help people. Posted by: Julie Pascal at January 5, 2005 05:14 PM |
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 "...playful philosophizing" Dan Leroy, National Review Online
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I’d be remiss if I didn’t acknowledge the world crisis taking place in the aftermath of the Tsunamis along the coast of Asia. Anyone with their head buried in a pillow over the past week is probably awestruck, wondering why flags everywhere are flying at half mast. Meanwhile, news reports are informative, yet relentless. At what point does seeing the same graphic footage of thousands of bodies being carried from the rubble cease to aid us in being empathetic and start enabling us to fall further into our numbed state of desensitization? 
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Because everyone wants to be a hero. Along with contributing to save lives, of course. Because the White House is still smarting from that U.N. weasel's offhand statement that the U.S. is stingy. Because the U.N., and the mainstream media, confuse the amounts donated by a nation's government with that country's generousity. To which I would remind them of the unprecedented efforts by U.S. radio and teevee stations- bloodsucking profiteers and all. The one-hour mini-telethon on NBC stations this week. Round the clock PSAs for the American Red Cross on Chicago area stations all day this day. The St. Louis FM station sponsoring a Dress Down Friday in the region's business offices, with participants donating at least $5 to the American Red Cross. As long as the bulk of the donations assist the tsunami victims, it's all good. But might want to remind the world about which nation's military transports shipped the first precious cargos of food and medicine. Hint- they weren't from France.....