HAITI-A NECESSARY DOSE OF PERSPECTIVE FOR THE WORLD

imgp6941-1Sometimes it takes an incredibly tragic event like the earthquake in Haiti to give us a perspective.

Even if it only lasts for awhile.

Empty-headed entertainers from TV and Hollywood, egomaniacal rock stars, self-aggrandizing politicians and obscenely overpaid pro athletes usually represent the narrow focus called 21st Century journalism.

Because of this distorted puffball media perspective, we miss too many real life events because they’re hidden behind this distorted reality where Brett Favre’s shoulder injury matters more than your neighbor losing his job and eventually his house.

Tragic events like the one in Haiti are far too big to ignore and ultimately, that’s a good thing.

 Devastating natural events like earthquakes in the center of a major city can do only one of two things-make us look better as a species or make us look worse.

 The jury is out on this so far, but the betting money is on “looking better”.

 At this point, the UN is highly impressed with the immediate and unconditional response from its high profile member countries. You get the usual participants-the United States, for example, has never been a “coat-holder” when help is needed, nor has Canada, Britain, Germany and France.

But now we have Russia, Italy, Spain, Brazil, Venezuela, China, Israel, Ireland, South Africa, Peru, Costa Rica, Mexico, Panama, Qatar, Belgium, Nicaragua, Bolivia, Belgium, Cuba, Iceland and Taiwan.

There are more but… you get the picture. This is like a World Cup without the drunken brawling and with U.S.A. and Canada.

This is a UN cooperative effort that actually works-that happens about as often as Halley’s Comet. For once, we don’t have to reflect on the negative global repercussions of a maniac like Osama Bin Laden.

Instead we get to see something very positive coming out of massive tragedy, so for this week anyhow, the UN is a reality, not a punch line, celebrities get kicked off the front page- and so do lowlife terrorists.

And one of the world’s worst Third World countries gets real global aid after a devastating natural event that wasn’t made up-like tropical weather at the North Pole.

COMMENTS

DENNIS:"I beg to differ . As usual "Uncle Sugar" (the US) has risen to the task in a big way but the combined total of aid from the rest of the world is a drop in the bucket in a calamity the size of this. Cuba has been kind enough to allow our planes to fly through their air space, rather than having to go around the island but I think that's it, so far. Hugo Chavez has sent one plane load of something from Venezuela. The (sort-of) moderate Muslim countries like Qatar and Saudi Arabia have kicked in a little but the rest of the Muslim world is typically silent, when it comes to charity for others.

America is the kindest, most generous country on this planet and it wouldn't hurt the rest of the world and the United (and usually useless) Nations to acknowledge that once in a while. Haiti is and has been, a disaster since long before this earthquake. America has poured over a Billion Dollars into Haiti in the last 3 deacdes, directly into the pockets of the "ruling class". This calamity would probably not have been of such Biblical proportions had any of that money been spent on an infrastructure that could stand up to the earthquakes that have befallen the island of Hispaniola since the beginning of time.
I'm an ol Californian, I know what an earthquake is, I've been in a few of the big ones. My heart goes out to these people and my money too. But once all is said and done am I expecting to see a speck of gratitude or credit for the Christian generosity of the American people from the people of Haiti or the rest or the rest of the world, for that matter?  No, I'm not, it's just part of the Christian philosophy I try to live by. A philosophy that takes quite a beating from the cheezy, Liberal celeberties and politicians who always pop out of the cracks when there's a headline to grab."