The Burr in the Burgh

According to the latest reports, Thursday in New Orleans saw floating corpses, gunfire and chaos. The natural disaster, the so-called "act of God," is over. The hurricane has dissipated. But now the disaster known as fallen human nature will fill the headlines. Think Mogadishu or Darfur with water. Bands of trouble-makers, armed with rifles and AK-47s looted from flooded stores are cruising the devastated city. Some for profit. Arguably some for survival. Many others just for the thrill of it. William Golding wrote Lord of the Flies because he understood that without external restraints, even the sweetest among us will turn into savages. See the dead bodies left to rot in the Louisiana summer sun. Smell the raw sewage flowing in the streets. Snakes and alligators making nests in people's submerged bedrooms and patios. How many hundreds or thousands of people will have died by drowning, dehydration, infection, dysentery, cholera or heat stroke, not to mention bullets or lack of proper medical attention?

A wise Christian lady told me today that it upsets her to think of all the petty ridiculous people (ourselves included) who moan and whine because of their insignificant problems which are seldom anything more than inconveniences when you think about it (I'm paraphrasing for dramatic effect). This should remind us that there are people with real problems.

One of the most noticable characteristics of Jesus is that he had sympathy for those who were sick or suffering. And, with God, sympathy never sits still. God so loved the world that He gave His only-begotten Son...." Did you catch that? God loved. And thus He gave Himself to save the human race. Having been saved and as people who continually benefit from the compassion of Christ, the church is mobilizing to help the hurting. Give to the effort by linking here.

The United States is always one of the first nations to offer aid to other countries when they are hit with natural disasters. A few years ago, when that town in Iran was completely destroyed by a massive earthquake, the U.S. was there in droves. More recently, when those Russian submariners were trapped, the U.S. was sending in military rescue teams, pronto.

This article from the Washington Times details some of the international response to our current crisis. Needless to say, the U.S. has many friends in the world community and a number of kind offers have been made.

The perception, however, by many is that America is so rich that we need no assistance. But that isn't really the point, is it? Americans are some of the most generous people in the world. I remember reading Stephen Ambrose's books on World War II. And he says that when the Americans were finally invading Germany, the local German folk were happy to see them. And that's because they knew that the Americans, unlike the Russians or the French, would not rape their women and pillage their homes. I'm not trying to say that Americans are sinless, only that it has been a common trait of our culture to be neighborly, and that includes lending a hand when trouble strikes.

If you want to donate money to help, go here.

Hat tip to Bad Hair Blog.