Friday, February 25, 2011

My Suffering is Greater than Yours

Two tragic situations weigh heavily on my mind like crushing weights upon my back: the earthquake in Christchurch and the revolution in Libya. The only thing these have in common though, is death.

With 113 confirmed deaths and 228 still missing, presumed deceased, the violent indiscriminate wrath of nature manifested itself yet again in New Zealand recently. Aftershocks continue. There is fear, shock and great sadness. I feel it from afar but I'm not there. It's not my suffering. I cannot experience it, nor can I imagine it.

Inspired by their Arab brothers and sisters in Tunisia and Egypt, the people of Libya began a revolution. Their leader, the despot Gadaffi responded to calls for his departure and a transition to democracy with angry defiance and bloodshed. He went on state television and called his own people cockroaches. He told them he would send soldiers to hunt them down and kill them. Libyan protesters, who were doing something which we take for granted in our free nation, were shot mercilessly in the streets by hired guns. Firing from the ground, and from the air in helicopter gunships, mercenaries murdered innocent people. Libya is closed. Nobody really knows what's going on there and we have seen very few pictures of the carnage. I feel great rage towards the madman Gadaffi, and tremendous sorrow for those who have suffered death and injury. It will continue but I'm not there. I cannot experience it or imagine it.

When we are suffering we tell ourselves that there is always someone worse off than us. It's a way of reassuring ourselves. Our loved ones, or even acquaintances, may offer similar platitudes in an effort to rescue us from despair or from the mire of self pity. But no one knows a person's suffering better than that person themselves. Making comparisons with other people's tragedies may provide a quantum of solace but it doesn't necessarily ease the pain or remove the source of suffering.

I long for the day when suffering and sorrow will cease and every tear will be wiped away, but until then the only encouragement I can offer is that it won't last forever. Even if it lasts a lifetime. Even if it seems to be endless, suffering will end one day. While we wait for that glorious release from this prison, let's be wise and sensitive, and above all gracious, kind and loving. It's not hard. In one way or another, we are all suffering together.

Saturday, February 19, 2011

The Survival of the Meekest







Saturday, February 12, 2011

Give Me a Dictator







Monday, February 7, 2011

No talking please, I'm driving.

Last year nearly 50 000 people were fined for mobile phone offences whilst driving their cars. Everyone knows it's against the law to talk or text and everyone knows it's dangerous but 50 000 is a fair whack of naughty people. Surely that is only the tip of the iceberg. Think of all those who didn't get caught. How many did you see today?

A new study, hands up if you have had a gutful of studies, has shown that talking on your mobile phone even using a hands free system, dramatically increases your crash casualty risk. Presumably it's not the use of the hands that is the problem, but the use of the mouth, ears and brain that causes people to become distracted from the task of driving, sometimes with terrible consequences.

The response to this study has been so predictable that it makes you wonder why we needed the research done in the first place. What can we do about this newly revealed hazard? Ban all mobile phone use, including hands free.

Let's ignore the fact that any new laws will join the swollen throng of stupid, paternalistic and impractical ones already on the books. (Did you know you can be booked for leaving your car unlocked in a public place?) Let's also ignore the fact that eating, drinking and smoking are allowed in private cars as well as all sorts of other interesting pastimes like reading, and playing drums on the steering wheel,for example. Let's say it's a great idea. Anything we can do to reduce accidents, injury and loss of life is good. Right?

Wrong! Even with such a ban people will still talk and I want to know what the difference is between a conversation with a present person and a conversation with an absent person? No, any new law must ban conversation in cars all together. Actually why not ban all conversation during your favourite television show? Ban all chit chat which interferes with, either the execution of your work duty, or the enjoyment of your passive hobby, whatever it may be. What about banning all conversation that doesn't interest you? What else? Help me out here because everyone knows what the world really needs is not love and peace, or even common sense. What the world needs is more stupid laws telling us how to, or how not to live.

Friday, February 4, 2011

The Aussie Spirit

I love how parochial we Australians get in times of disaster when we pull together and help each other. The never ending media coverage on the recent floods and the even more recent storm of the century, has strongly focussed on the efforts of people in assisting other people in times of need. Strangers helping strangers and neighbours helping neighbours. Everyone pitching in to alleviate the suffering and clean up the mess. And all those people who weren't able to physically help out have donated huge amounts of money. Unity in suffering.

(By the way, if you didn't give anything you are a bad Australian, an uncaring, and mean spirited person. But don't worry the flood levy might still extract your contribution.)

The Aussie spirit of helping your mate has been frequently mentioned and continually held up and celebrated as though it is unique. As though it is a thing which lives in all of us and bursts forth when required. We must feel great sorrow for people in other countries when they face disasters because the only people who rush to their rescue are Australians. And if we don't charge in to save the day then they are all damned. The only people who give money are Australians because we are the most generous people on the planet. Praise the Aussie spirit. Go Australia.

Too much? Sure but, obviously Australians aren't the only ones who help their neighbours. It does add to the feelgood vibe post catastrophe though, and that's okay. Of course, people help each other in times of need. People even risk their own lives for others. People are certainly capable of generosity, goodness and sacrificial love. This is excellent and praiseworthy but it's not some mystical Aussie Spirit, or even the so called human spirit. These characteristics that are manifested in troubled times are Godly characteristics. They originate with God. We can be generous and good and we can risk our lives for each other because that is what we were designed to do. Made in the image of our Creator who is the ultimate source of all that is good.

Let's celebrate goodness by all means but is it too much to ask that we give God some credit? Rabbitting on about alleged triumphs of the human spirit stinks of conceit when we exclude God and claim divine attributes for our pitiful selves. When was the last time you gave God a bit of glory and praise?