I am never so driven to prayer these days as when I read of fellow human Rush Limbaugh mocking the suffering survivors of the Japanese earthquake. Akin to kicking a man when he is down, I can only wonder at such thoughtless cruelties expressed by this influential public figure. I pray for his cold, dead and mean soul that light will reach into him and create a better human being.
Am I ashamed to be an American these days? Yes and no is my honest answer. I'm never so proud of this country as when our military is put to use in helping out when disaster strikes. It seems we are always there first. I think that this is great public relations for our democratic republic and I think it is a great way to spend our tax dollars and I think it is a great way to win friends and influence enemies. We made a friend of Japan from a very troubled time. They can count on us. This isn't the case in the Middle East that now roils with demands for liberty, justice, freedom and representation, all things we fought our friends, the British, to win for ourselves. Yet, we often are on the side of the hated strongman and in this case it is Gadaffi of Libya. Perhaps we'll be forgiven for propping up Mubarak of Egypt. But if our country doesn't help the Libyans beat back this ferocious tyrant at the very moment they need us and the world, then they'll never forgive us. We must always valiantly defend our liberties and democratic ideals when situations like this arise. How we could throw over these things because of something as slimy as oil is beyond me. We as a nation either defend these principles to the world and help those who also want them and are fighting for them, or we are sad hypocrites worthy of mockery. I don't think any American wants to be thought of that way. Our leadership in Washington must rally to help the Libyans with a no-fly zone and a battleship in the Bay of Bengazi to fire upon the tyrant's air force and to provide relief supplies: medical, food and water. We must call upon our allies to help, and they will; the French have been demanding this. If Obama and those others who waffle at this time of great need lose this battle then they will cause this nation to lose face. I call on our leaders to do the right thing for defending great democratic ideas and not oil. Think about it: after facing huge criticism, some rightly, because of the Mess O'Potamia/Iraq many in the Arab world still look to us for help in these situations. Odd, isn't it? But something we only ignore at our peril. Freedom, as we well know, does not come freely to those desiring it, as we have seen from Morocco to Jordan.
 |
| Man's Best Friend is Also a Dog's... |
Dogs. Three observations. It's inspiring to watch man's best friend sniff for life and death in the rubble of Japan. It's inspiring to watch a scared dog reject the help of rescuers because it wants to help its wounded canine companion by staying with him (click here to view video). It's inspiring to watch survivors with their dogs on their leashes standing in relief lines. This is especially inspiring after seeing pets torn from the arms of their tearful masters after Hurricane Katrina. Final thought: how could we live on this Earth without this lovely animal? I wonder if we'd really want to. Perhaps a nice dog would provide a much-needed heart for Rush.
No comments:
Post a Comment