HAITI - THE BROKEN WING

It matters that the media have lavished so much attention on the aftermath of Haiti's January 12 earthquake. The coverage has helped inspire people around the world to give of their time, energy and money in responding to the disaster. On the Democracy Now! website last week, filmmaker Michael Moore described how almost 12,000 members of the US National Nurses Union had signed up to leave for Haiti immediately. Moore explained:

"... the executive director of the National Nurses Union. She contacted the [Obama] administration. She got put off. She had no response. Then they sent her to some low-level person that had no authority to do anything.

"And then, finally, she's contacting me. And she says, 'Do you know any way to get a hold of President Obama?' And I'm going, 'Well, this is pretty pathetic if you're having to call me. I mean, you are the largest nurses union... I don't know what I can do for you. I mean, I'll put my call in, too.' But as we sit here today, not a whole heck of a lot has happened. And it's distressing."
(http://www.democracynow.org/2010/1/26/michael_ moore_on_haiti_the_supreme)

The courage and compassion of thousands of people willing to enter a chaotic disaster zone threatened with aftershocks are very real. Compassion arises out of a recognition that 'their' suffering is no different to 'my' suffering. The heart trembles and softens in response to this awareness. Such a subtle resonance and yet it has the power to relieve much of the world's despair. It is the only counter force to the brutality and greed of human egotism willing to sacrifice everyone and everything for 'me'.

But if compassion is to make a real difference, it must be allied to rational analysis. In the absence of this analysis, compassion is like a bird with a broken wing flapping in futile circles, never leaving the ground.

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