Therefore you have no excuse, whoever you are, when you judge others; for in passing judgement on another you condemn yourself, because you, the judge, are doing the very same things.
Romans 2:1
The tragedy that has unfolded in Haiti is nearly unbearable to even write about. The human suffering alone is of course enough to make one living with all the basic comforts of life ill with grief as we witness the rescue and recovery efforts. While so many yet wander without adequate shelter, food, water, etc. the news from Haiti has already faded to much smaller articles deeper in the paper each morning. Now we are left with the opinion masters, who have begun posting their careful essays on the nature of this tiny overpopulated island nation. Of course, almost immediately after the first horrific images of the devastation of the nation aired, ignorance pronounced the guilt of the Haitian people for the calamity based upon the historical lore of many generations ago. Pat Robertson's declaration is just his latest blunder and another glimps into a soul tormented by the sins of privilege and racial prejudice. Next came the blasting voice of Limbaugh who demonized any effort by the government for assistance and advised his audience to not support aid to Haiti because we as a nation have already given them enough. Don't give a black president any money to help those black folks crushed under the rubble of a disaster of their own making, resonated in the foolish comments of these pundants of white privilege and economic abundance.
Then, I picked up the newspaper this morning and read the comments of syndicated columnist Jonah Goldberg who wrote: "The sad turth about Haiti isn't simply that it is poor, but it has a poverty culture. Even if blame lies everywhere except among the victims themselves, it doesn't change the fact that Haiti will never get out of grinding poverty until it abandons much of its culture." Tough Love Needed for Haiti by Jonah Goldberg on National Review Online Goldberg's argument is not a new one. The cultures of oppressed and impoverished people have always been targeted for being the chief reason for their own circumstance by those who may by some privileged status stand upon their lofty pedestal, peer over their reading glasses and down their noses on those who have not benefited from the luxuries of ancestral wealth. As a once slave colonoy of western European colonialism, the nation of Haiti was not built upon ancestral wealth or opportunity and frankly the people have been handed enough tough love. Goldberg suggests that when Haitians come to the States their productivity level increases because Americans value hard work and discipline. The problem in Haiti Goldberg claims is the "lack of intangible capital" or in other words the nation's poor work ethic and rampaging criminal element. They are lazy crooks. Our work ethic in America on the other hand is evident by our collective waistlines, our enormous prison population and our prioritization of personal investment in entertainment. We will pay $8 - $10 for a movie ticket several times a year and think nothing of it. We may text message for relief once at the $10 level and say it is all that I am able to give. Of course we are assisting the few movie stars who have given large sums of money for relief when we buy those tickets, right? And, we haven't even begun to scratch the surface of our entertainment GNP. What does it say of our world when a luxury cruise liner, filled with patrons spending hundreds if not thousands of dollars on their cruise, insensitively dropped anchor for a secluded beach just miles from the devastation so passengers could sunbathe on pretty beaches and swim in aquamarine waters while thousands lie dying over yonder in the tropical sun?
Are you outraged by this? I am!
Anne T. and Robert M Bass Professor of Government at Harvard University, Michael Sandel has been reading his 2009 book, Justice: Whats the Right Thing to Do? to me on my car CD player this week. Sandel defines outrage as "the special kind of anger you feel when you believe that people are getting things they don't deserve. Outrage of this kind is anger at injustice." (For more from Professor Michael Sandel.) Well, I am outraged when I see the undeniably painful images of Haiti and I contemplate the comments of Goldberg and others who are saying that the Haitian people are justly getting their desserts! Moreover, my outrage turns to righteous indignation when God is claimed as author of the devastation as punishment for some faithlessness on the hands of Haiti! And, I am seethingly mad that we still do not get the dream that Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and so many others have had of a world where we live in Beloved Community, where we understand ourselves as "caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly." We still want to dehumanize and blame without reconciling ourselves to our brothers and sisters whose lives have not been undergirded by columns of wealth and privilege passed down through the generations. We still live for our individual attainment and not for the glory of God revealed when the human canvas declares the beauty of God's creativeness in many hues, shades and colors. We still live to perpetuate the opportunistic ways of racism and greed that place winners over losers on playing fields that are nowhere near equal to begin with. So yes, I am outraged at the evil response of those blaming the victims once again!
God, who chooses life and life that is abundant, does not will for the loss of lives for thousands of oppressed people and the many who were there to bring compassion and empower their ability to find justice. God weeps, sobs and bawls even while mourning the loss of precious members of the human family. God's heart of compassion floods the earth with power to rescue and save lives in need of the most tender care. God's foot of justice mobilizes the forces of the most decent of human ideals that as a nation is healed from the ravages of an ever evolving planet just relationships may reign over all aspirations. And so, do your part. Take any anguish or outrage you may feel and transform them into tools of compassion and justice. Give your best to help your sister and your brother who so desperately needs your help. Share the grace and love of a God of abundant life with those whose physical surroundings scream death. Give your heart!
Click on this link to give to the Disciples' Week of Compassion Haiti Relief Efforts. 100% of your gift goes directly to assist the people of Haiti through our trusted mission partners such as Church World Service.
