Things That Do Not Make Sense

We read, we write, we talk with our family and friends every day. One reason we do this is to attempt to make the world make sense.

Every week, events happen in our lives, for good or ill, that don't easily make sense. How come, for instance, despite all his obvious failures and shortcomings, does this insignificant guy at his laptop enjoy such a wonderful (if modest) life?  Why is the twenty-one year old life of an old family friend tragically ended in a car wreck less than a mile from her home? That's just a couple of questions from this week. Every reader has his own Things That Do Not Make Sense list, updated often.

There are other, even more horrible Things That Do Not Make Sense.  The ongoing tragedy of Haiti is one, brought to bear upon our consciences by the recent earthquake. The death toll may well top 200,000 souls before all is said and done. The imagination has a hard time taking it in: 200,000 people, mostly desperately poor, their lives cut short. Each of them a soul as fully human as any of us sitting here in our comfortable chairs, drinking our coffees.

For now, we send money.  Short term to the Red Cross and our church missions on the ground--and there were a lot on the ground before the quake. Long-term to Heifer International, which seems to do a great job in the nitty-gritty of improving lives one family at a time. It's tough work, short or long term.

So, we attempt to make sense, and if wise, we step back and ask 'How did this happen? What can we do to head off the next Haiti?  Earthquakes are a fact of life, but mass death doesn't have to follow, does it?'

David Brooks offers some thoughts worth consideration in last week's New York Times.


(OldSouth tripped across it because it infuriated someone in academia, always a good sign.)

In part, he says:

'....Haiti, like most of the world’s poorest nations, suffers from a complex web of progress-resistant cultural influences. There is the influence of the voodoo religion, which spreads the message that life is capricious and planning futile. There are high levels of social mistrust. Responsibility is often not internalized. Child-rearing practices often involve neglect in the early years and harsh retribution when kids hit 9 or 10.

We’re all supposed to politely respect each other’s cultures. But some cultures are more progress-resistant than others, and a horrible tragedy was just exacerbated by one of them.'

Brooks doesn't  just point fingers, but makes a couple of very good suggestions on creating real remedies.

He makes sense.

And, these days, this is a valuable commodity.

*****

PS--The Bernanke vote is tomorrow.  If you are a US citizen, have you called your Senator yet?