Help the Red CrossFolks, my heart hurts.
I've been browsing around on the internet looking for stories of what's happening in New Orleans. I'm reading about tremendous pain and suffering. I'm reading about babies dying of dehydration. I'm reading about old people dying as they sit in their chairs with no food or water. I'm reading about thousands of people stuck in convention centers with no plumbing or sanitation. I'm reading about people who are desperately waiting for someone/something to come and help them. I'm also reading comments from people around the country who are angry. They are angry that more isn't being done. They are angry that we weren't better prepared. They're angry and our government hasn't responded. Then I've heard people who are angry about the fact that all those people stayed in New Orleans when officials gave the order to evacuate.
"Why the heck didn't they get out when they were supposed to! I'm sorry it happened to them, but they should've listened!"I've heard people who are angry because people are shooting at helicopters and high jacking busses and stealing guns and ammo from stores. I've heard people angry because the stories they're reading in the newspapers aren't what they'd have done if they were in that situation. But you know what? The vast majority of angry opinions I've heard are from people who AREN'T there. They sit in their nice air conditioned offices and complain loudly about how things 'outta be. There is very seems to be a severe lack of compassion in some people.
A lot of the people who are stuck in New Orleans were the ones who were very poor to begin with. They didn't have the luxury of taking a few days off work, book a hotel, and get out of town. They may not have even owned a vehicle that could fit their family. Even if they had all the means to get out and choose not too, does that make them any less deserving of all the help and support that this country can muster? Is it our place to say or even think, "Since they didn't do what they should've done, they're less deserving of our compassion."?
My head is spinning. My heart is aching. I'm praying.
There are so many who seem so determined to find the negative side in EVERY situation.
And through it all there are thousands of people working. Thousands of people rescuing. Thousands of people giving. Thousands of people feeding. Thousands of people who are mobilized to bring comfort. Thousands of people who will never stand in front of a camera. Thousands of people who will not get media exposure.I heard a story this morning on my way into work. A local grade school took an un-announced collection for the victims of the hurricane, and out of a school of 800 they collected $500! That's un-announced people. I have a feeling a few kids went without lunch that day. I don't know about you, but I didn't carry "extra cash" on me in grade school. These kids gave their food money for that day.
My prayer is for this tragedy to bring Glory to God. May many people throughout our nation turn to Christ for comfort and find a committed relationship that will last a lifetime.
9 comments:
Look what the rich dudes in washington are gonna pass, while we are destracted with the hurricane. Let's see... First Emminent Domain now belongs to corporations. You are now a slave to Banks if you file bankruptcy. Now this. God Bless "Bad Luck Bush". Blessing and Luck, kinda oxymorons?? We'll see for yourself. Here is the link.
http://www.cbpp.org/4-12-05tax.htm
Mike
"Inflation is when the buck never stops anywhere"
i know how much you're heart is aching luke!! my mom and i were pretty much in tears after watching some of the news on this stuff... there is so much i would like to say about all of this too, but i'm so upset that i'm afraid something i wouldn't really want to say would come out... so i won't... but yeah.... it's painful to even watch... pray. just PRAY!!
Alright. I have to comment after tonight's conversation with everyone.
I hear you. The fact that people didn't "get out" when they should have doesn't change the fact that we show compassion, just like Christ would. OR that we should be the judge! Who are we to point fingers? So there are some less fortunate out there who are abusing the system... let God judge them. But does that excuse us from helping them? Praying for them? It's easy for us to sit nice and pretty and say, "Well, they SHOULD HAVE done this," but we aren't floating around next to dead, rotting bodies, dehydrated, screaming babies, and absolutely NO WAY out phsyically.
We can't fathom what they're going through, and while I understand that some of them may have somewhat brought their situation upon themselves by not taking action earlier, why should that change our outlook towards them? As if we've never made a mistake? The criticism can GO, in my opinion. Let's cut the politics and get down to the heart of the issue: what can we do?
I wanted to suggest that we all stop mindlessly talking and get together in a circle and pray, but that's about the time Brad's dad came down and gave us the cue to leave :-) But let's keep praying, anyway! The power of prayer should never be underestimated.
K, I'm done venting.
T
It makes me soo sad to see those pictures. And we forget these people are JUST LIKE US. They are Americans living in the same country as us. Sometimes it's unreal to think that this kind of suffering is happening here in America. Because in our lifetimes, other then 911, we've never seen this suffering. But it really hits home because this is here in our country and we need to do something about it. Everyone needs to do something about it, because there is no reason that in this country, with how weathy we are, that anyone should go with out food and water. Just look at al of our celebritys with millions and now there are thousands and thousands of people with out food and water. It's just not right. I guess all we can do is pray and donate money from here. But it's sad.
Good post Luke, I liked it :)
Dear Mr. Bush:
Any idea where all our helicopters are? It's Day 5 of Hurricane Katrina and thousands remain stranded in New Orleans and need to be airlifted. Where on earth could you have misplaced all our military choppers? Do you need help finding them? I once lost my car in a Sears parking lot. Man, was that a drag.
Also, any idea where all our national guard soldiers are? We could really use them right now for the type of thing they signed up to do like helping with national disasters. How come they weren't there to begin with?
Last Thursday I was in south Florida and sat outside while the eye of Hurricane Katrina passed over my head. It was only a Category 1 then but it was pretty nasty. Eleven people died and, as of today, there were still homes without power. That night the weatherman said this storm was on its way to New Orleans. That was Thursday! Did anybody tell you? I know you didn't want to interrupt your vacation and I know how you don't like to get bad news. Plus, you had fundraisers to go to and mothers of dead soldiers to ignore and smear. You sure showed her!
I especially like how, the day after the hurricane, instead of flying to Louisiana, you flew to San Diego to party with your business peeps. Don't let people criticize you for this -- after all, the hurricane was over and what the heck could you do, put your finger in the dike?
And don't listen to those who, in the coming days, will reveal how you specifically reduced the Army Corps of Engineers' budget for New Orleans this summer for the third year in a row. You just tell them that even if you hadn't cut the money to fix those levees, there weren't going to be any Army engineers to fix them anyway because you had a much more important construction job for them -- BUILDING DEMOCRACY IN IRAQ!
On Day 3, when you finally left your vacation home, I have to say I was moved by how you had your Air Force One pilot descend from the clouds as you flew over New Orleans so you could catch a quick look of the disaster. Hey, I know you couldn't stop and grab a bullhorn and stand on some rubble and act like a commander in chief. Been there done that.
There will be those who will try to politicize this tragedy and try to use it against you. Just have your people keep pointing that out. Respond to nothing. Even those pesky scientists who predicted this would happen because the water in the Gulf of Mexico is getting hotter and hotter making a storm like this inevitable. Ignore them and all their global warming Chicken Littles. There is nothing unusual about a hurricane that was so wide it would be like having one F-4 tornado that stretched from New York to Cleveland.
No, Mr. Bush, you just stay the course. It's not your fault that 30 percent of New Orleans lives in poverty or that tens of thousands had no transportation to get out of town. C'mon, they're black! I mean, it's not like this happened to Kennebunkport. Can you imagine leaving white people on their roofs for five days? Don't make me laugh! Race has nothing -- NOTHING -- to do with this!
You hang in there, Mr. Bush. Just try to find a few of our Army helicopters and send them there. Pretend the people of New Orleans and the Gulf Coast are near Tikrit.
Yours,
MikeB.
P.S. Don't donate to the Red Cross. The Republican conservatives don't want you to because they protested the torture in Iraq, Afghanistan and Cuba.
How un-Christian of them.
P.P.S. That annoying mother, Cindy Sheehan, is no longer at your ranch. She and dozens of other relatives of the Iraqi War dead are now driving across the country, stopping in many cities along the way. Maybe you can catch up with them before they get to DC on September 21st.
Don't you people get it. We portray America to be some loving country but all we do is instigate war on other countries, murder the largest number of babies through abortion and when we so proudly sing God Bless America. Please, let me spew over that song. It meant something way back when, but now it's a joke. The time for America has come to suffer. What happen to the Roman Empire. There is an end to everything and America is just experiencing the beginning. God works in mysterious ways!
Luke,
Thought you weren't going to accept annonymous comments.
Its always easy to blame others for our problems, also hindsight is always 50/50.
Some of your comments remind me of a parallell. I was lost in Sin - most of my problems were in fact self-inflicted. A lot of us blamed Jesus/God for our problems. But Jesus still helped me.
The government and the US citizens as a whole don't have the power Jesus has, So the clean up and all that we are doing is probably not going perfectly. I think instead of pointing fingers, people need to stand back and look at what they personally could do to offer more help.
Keep praying!
Not letting people post anonymous won't stop anything Tina. It takes about 2 minutes to sign up for an account. As long as comments stay clean I'll continue to allow them 24/7.
WOW, luke! first i got chills and then i cried when i read this...my heart aches for them. i have a good friend from down there whose house was spared, but the devestation she has seen while volunteering to help others who weren't as fortunate is heartbreaking.
you said it all so perfectly. thanks for making me think. for making me feel more about the situation and to see both sides. awesome post! :)
Post a Comment