Is There Hope Not Just for Haiti, But the World?

As I sit here watching the Hope For Haiti telethon, I'm hit with the same emotions I was when I first heard about the earthquake. I was at work when I received a text alert about the earthquake from CNN, and for the rest of the day and night I was glued to my computer and CNN.com, checking back for the latest updates, watching videos and looking at pictures of the devastation.

But ever since–and I don't consider myself particularly political, but I am a thinker and a "wonderer"–there's a thought that keeps creeping into my mind. I see all of these celebrities, read about all of these big donations, hear about my friends and even myself donating money to help...and I can't help but wonder, where is all of this generosity, these funds, this compassion, during any other time? Does it take a devastating natural disaster to open our eyes to people in need? What about the millions of people in the world who are dehydrated, starving, homeless, and orphaned every day?



Somehow, it just doesn't seem fair. In now way do I think that the situation in Haiti doesn't need our help, our money, our time and attention–it's terrifying how desperate the situation is. But what doesn't seem fair, and what is bothering me, is that it takes the most horrific natural disaster for people to pay attention to an already dying country. It took something this catastrophic for the U.S. and other powerful countries and celebrities who spend thousands of dollars on shoes and cars to help a country that was already so desperately in need.

What is the solution for the rest of the world? This earthquake was literally the worst possible thing that could happen to this country, and the images of the faces of parent-less children wandering the streets through the rubble and the men and women standing ravaged by hungry still grasping their Bibles and singing makes me really think this is a sign. Whether it's from God, from the Earth, or whatever being one believes in, I think this is a sign that we need to pay attention. We need to pay attention to the planet and how we are treating it, to the many countries that need our help, to the children who need homes and families, and to the fact that it takes a natural disaster of this magnitude to tear ourselves away from reality TV and our Blackberries and do something to help others.