processing

the haiti earthquake was precisely a week ago today, and they're still finding bodies in the rubble.  apparently there are 72,000 confirmed deaths so far, but death toll estimates range from 100-150,000.  to put that in context, the 2004 tsunami in south asia killed 250,000, hurricane katrina killed 1,800.  the entirety of my hometown is 110,000 people. (!!!)  five years post-katrina, new orleans is still struggling to put itself back together; haiti is the poorest nation in the western hemisphere.

the daily telegraph out of london had an interesting op-ed piece about differing responses by world superpowers to the the earthquake, and in essence commended america for quickly and decisively choosing to help this poverty stricken nation in its time of great need.  i think that i found it particularly interesting because my own first reaction to hearing that president obama had pledged $100m to the relief effort was, "do we have $100m to give?" - chiding my government for its debt rather than commending it for its call to action.  on facebook, when a friend posted a link to the telegraph's article, someone posted the quote by alexis de tocqueville, "america is great because she is good.  if america ceases to be good, america will cease to be great."  yes, "good" is a relative term and i don't know the context for de tocqueville making that statement, but still, i found it poignant.  doing good in the financial sense needs, i think, to be balanced with a good budget, but when we see a need we need to find out what we can do to help it - whether that help be by praying, giving, or going.  cnn.com says that just over $220m has been raised by nonprofit relief groups for the earthquake, and if you are able to give but have not yet done so, i heartily encourage you to do so.  america's goodness comes from her people as much as it does from her government.  there are plenty of organizations lobbying for your dollars right now, but i'll put in my two cents for compassion international.  haiti needs food, shelter, and hope in god right now, and compassion can help provide all three.