Making Sense out of Chaos

It seems as though with each week that passes the state of the world falls deeper and deeper into a foray of hostility and unrest. We have all seen the news clips and heard the sound bites. Surreal, ineffable images of devastation and distress along Japan’s eastern seaboard: homes lost, families separated, radioactive threats, and lack of communication all contribute to pandemonium among citizens. Civil unrest in Libya: political resistance, rebel forces, military insurgents, air strikes and no fly zones, and battles over interstate highways that separate east from west. Photojournalists depicting frenzied scurrying for safety; children holding rifles standing larger than the children themselves; and bloodshed at the hands of violent attacks.

There is a value in bearing witness to what's happening to people who are living their lives with extraordinary tenacity and great dignity, despite doing so in the face of horror. We live each day here in the United States, going about our daily routines, casually bypassing the destitute, the homeless, addicted and underprivileged. We spend frivolously on $4.00 coffee, expensive vehicles, grossly ornate homes, and lavish vacations. We are perversely attuned to our own selfish desires, taking for granted the lifestyles we lead. We pass this sense of entitlement on to our offspring who then grow up not knowing the value to earning their own way and regard material items as a symbol of success. We do this without realizing the consequential aftermath that will result or without giving thanks to God and giving back to the world in gratitude for our blessings.

I am just as guilty of the next person for this frivolous behavior. I trust in my inner moral code, upbringing, and faith that people are innately kind, despite being sidetracked with personal ambition. We all must remember to thank those who protect the very freedoms we believe are entitled to us a God given right. Recently I saw a truck on the highway with art in the rear window that summed this up. “Home of the free, BECAUSE of the brave.” My sentiments exactly, even if I have to be reminded from time to time.