The level of death and devastation in my home state of Alabama is almost beyond comprehension. There are 249 dead, and the number will likely continue to rise as rescuers and clean-up crews access areas that have been unreachable thus far.
And while media attention has been focused on the large towns like Tuscaloosa and Birmingham, there are the small towns that have been equally devastated. Little communities like Phil Campbell, Mount Hope, Dadeville, and Cullman. Then there are the other communities, too small to even have a name.
I am still haunted by a newspaper account of the devastation in Phil Campbell. A man on a four-wheeler rode up to the rescue team and cried out "My family...they're all dead."
I do not believe I will ever be able to get that image out of my mind.
And I am angry. A seething, boiling, murderous anger.
Anger at God? No. I do not blame God for acts in His creation. It is not in my theology.
My anger is directed at some of my so-called countrymen.
First there were the jokes. "Did you hear that the governor's mansion was destroyed in Alabama? They were only able to save the wheels."
Then there were the Internet comments. I submit a few for your consideration:
"God's wrath for all that Christian Right, Teabaggers, & GOP mean spirited behavior toward there (sic) fellow man."
"Pledge as little as possible, so the rednecks who always demand spending cuts are satisfied."
"Do you suppose that the infantile, southern, fundamentalist, birther (sic), climate change deniers might finally see the light at the end of the funnel?"
"It's almost as if the 'gods' are trying to tell these Republicans and their Southern states something."
I could go on. There are hundreds more comments like these.
It is hard for me to imagine that the United States will continue to exist as a nation. I sincerely believe we have reached a level of division that cannot be resolved with intelligent discourse and debate--a level that existed only once before in our nation's history: just before the War Between the States.
My country is becoming my enemy, and it makes me angry. Why should we send our tax dollars and our precious sons and daughters to shed their blood in hell-holes like Iraq and Afghanistan for these people who hate us?
Questions of the heart
5 days ago
Our country indeed, is being torn apart by vicious words and actions. I recall during Katrina when a great evangelist said our destruction in New Orleans was God's judgement. Well...why didn't the French Quarter flood? All the gays and prostitutes were high and dry there. . . instead mostly poor people suffered who were unable to evacuate. Please know that some of my Honduran friends, who live very humbly, have asked me about the suffering in Alabama as they have seen it on TV or read about in the papers. Maybe because they understand suffering. God be with you.
ReplyDeleteAnd God be with you...and my friends you help in Honduras.
ReplyDeleteIt's a "hate the poor"atmosphere and it's not a new thing...when people are impotent against the powers that be they look for someone weaker than they are to attack. Pecking order of the barnyard... mass psychology...and the politicos love it, that way they can pit one group against the other. Divide and conquer. Until it gets to a breaking point where many people are effected and they explode. When you have nothing left to lose but your chains ..... albeit they may be economical chains.. that's when the apocalypse will come.. Where has the compassion gone???
ReplyDeleteBig storm coming...rivers of blood.
ReplyDeleteI was not aware of these reactions. Sometimes it pays to be far away, even though high technology puts us all together. I'm on your side.
ReplyDeleteKeep in mind that a very small percentage of people think or say these silly things, but the publicity goes to the outrageous, as always. Most folks are on your side.
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure I understand your point here. Are you saying that prostitutes and homosexuals should have been flooded? I would just like to clarify what you are saying. I do seem to recall that Jesus surrounded himself with those that society didn't want. It does seem that your words may come across as "vicious".
ReplyDeleteI can't speak for Laurie, but I think I know her well enough to say that I believe you misunderstood her point. I believe she was saying that it is unwise to play God by interpreting a disaster as "judgment." A lot of the so-called "leaders" of the Christian church made that charge against New Orleans with Katrina (Laurie lives in New Orleans when she is not working in the slums of Tegucigalpa, Honduras).
ReplyDeleteFor a biblical perspective of God's heart toward judgment, read the book of Jonah, especially the last chapter where God reacts to Jonah's anger when He decides to spare Nineveh.