WHEN SHALL THE POOR INHERIT THE EARTH?
Children receive aid in Muzaffarabad, Kashmir
Bear with me as I wax philosophical for a second. I've been reading about the earthquake and aftershocks in central Asia, struggling to express coherent thoughts.
It's overwhelming to absorb how many natural disasters have killed, injured, and/or dislocated how many thousands of people this year:
- 170,000 people dead in Indonesia/Sri Lanka/India/Thailand and other countries in southeast Asia from the tsunami
- Over 1000 Americans dead from Hurricane Katrina
- A million Chinese evacuated from Typhoon Longwang
- and now, another 80,000 people in Pakistan/India/Afghanistan from the recent earthquakes
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I could also include the tens of thousands of Iraqi and Afghani citizens killed + the hundreds of American soldiers sacrificed by our government in the war + the million people who will die of AIDS by December.
It still wouldn't alter the message: thus far, in my lifetime, 2005 is the most tragic year for the poor and underprivileged.
Others who attempt to find meaning out of these disasters seem to be missing this point.
I appreciate Kurt Vonnegut's recent statement: "I think the earth's immune system is trying to get rid of us, and it's high time they did. My goodness, we are a disease on the face of this planet. You know, after two world wars and the Holocaust, and Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and, well, the Roman games and the Spanish Inquisition, and the burning of women in public squares. It's time we got out of here."
But the reality is that even if Earth's immune system is trying to get rid of us, the rich -- arguably, the ones responsible for most man-made tragedies -- aren't the ones being wiped off the planet.
This all leaves me with the question: if there is a God and if God has a purpose for everything, then what's the plan here?
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