Every once in a while, Mother Nature reminds us why we once feared and revered her. Why we still should, actually. I admit I am having a difficult time wrapping my mind around the massive destruction, the pain, the loss... Small children torn from their mothers' arms... Thousands of bodies littering the streets of Sri Lanka and Indonesia... Survivors and rescuers looking for living victims in the rubble... Lone surviving parents sending their children to orphanages because they cannot care for them alone... The missing posters, so hauntingly familiar to Americans, blowing in the breeze... I mean, I see the pictures, I hear the stories, but it all seems so unreal. So many died. So, so many. And so many more will die, despite the best efforts and generous aid of people around the world. It's a cruel card to be dealt.
In the wake of this natural disaster, which has left behind it destruction and death, horror and sorrow, genuine acts of generosity, and seemingly endless recriminations by feuding governments, I am forcibly reminded that tragedy brings out the best in some people, and the worst in others.
It's nice to see that a few celebrities have their hearts in the right place. Take Sandra Bullock, who donated $1 million after 9/11, and who has recently donated another $1 million to the American Red Cross to help in relief efforts for tsunami victims. Sure, $1 million may not be all that much for someone who makes several million dollars a movie, but it is generous nonetheless. I wonder what other A-list celebrities, professional athletes, and well-paid directors/producers are giving? Even Bill Gates has loosened the purse strings a bit. I wish I had more to give, I'm no millionaire, but with the donation tally passing $2 billion, I can see that our world, for all its faults, is still a wonderful place to be.
Must go hug my kiddos now.
2 Comments:
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commented:
Cat, sugar, don't want to depress you, but that ain't a bitch-slap, that was just a bit of a bigger hiccup than usual. When Momma Earth is gonna slap, there won't BE anymore Hollywood movie stars.
- » 1/14/2005 10:50 AM
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Cat commented:
Touché, my friend, touché. Or, in the immortal words of the duck man, Duckie Dale: "Toosh."
- » 1/14/2005 1:31 PM