The Earthquake in Haiti – An Appropriate Response
Like most people I was shocked at the news of a quake in Haiti and the absurd casualty totals being reported. I’ve been to Haiti. It’s a beautiful place but the people there have had their share of difficulties and they absolutely don’t need this. No one needs something like this, but least of all a place like Haiti.
I was shocked once again when I learned of the responses of Rush Limbaugh and Pat Robertson. I listened to the complete statements of both men several times and I just can’t get over how wrong they both are.
I’ve posted two videos that sum up the parts I want to comment on. One is a clip of Limbaugh’s comments regarding donating to WhiteHouse.gov and the other is a clip from The Daily Show. I do not post The Daily Show clip because I think this is funny. Not in the least. I post it because I think Jon Stewart has an important take on all of this.
My commnets will make more sense if you watch the videos – I’ve posted them over here.
One thing strikes me more than anything else. Robertson is a much more decent human being than Limbaugh, yet the comments by both men are remarkably similar.
Limbaugh states
There are people that have been trying to save Haiti, just as we’re trying to save Africa. You just can’t keep throwing money at it because the dictators there just take it all. They don’t spread it around, and even if they did, you’re not creating a permanent system where people an provide for themselves.
It’s a simple matter of self reliance.
Seriously Rush? Do you realize that this was an earthquake? We are not talking about supporting Haiti – we are talking about rescuing people who have been trough a terrible tragedy.
Rush has obvious reasons for reacting the way he did. He is using the tragedy to his advantage – exactly his accusation against our President. Robertson may be doing some of the same, but that is not what gets me most about this. What gets me most is that both responses are not only wrong but they are the wrong responses.
Some of Limbaugh’s comments are so wrong I’m not going to comment but the one I quoted above is inappropriate. It doesn’t apply here – even if it’s true. He reminds me of the guy who tries to help you when you lock your keys in your car by telling you that you should have an emergency key under your car.
Robertson makes the same mistake when he chooses to discuss why this happened. I know he talked about our reaction to it – praying and sending money – and those are good things, but why bring up the pact with the Devil at all? Even if his comments were based in reality (some say they are), the very least you can say is that this is not the right time to bring this up. If you haven’t seen Stewart’s comments you need to. They are right on and I can’t say it any better than he – there are a lot of things Robertson could have said and he did not.
I had a theology professor in college that shared something with our class that changed my life forever. He talked about how saddened he was by the typical Christian response to tragedies in the world – especially war. He said that every time there was a war in the world, the American church tended to respond by talking and writing about how the war might fit into prophecy instead of talking and writing about what the Christian response should be. Three years later the U.S. engaged in the first Gulf war and his comments came back to haunt me as I saw the books hit the bookshelves and the preachers bang on their pulpits**
Many churches across this nation are finding ways to help Haiti in this time of crisis. Now is not the time for its most vocal leaders to focus on other things. Albert Mohler, another very public Christian voice, argues that there is never a time to do this kind of thing. He writes:
The arrogance of human presumption is a real and present danger. We can trace the effects of a drunk driver to a car accident, but we cannot trace the effects of voodoo to an earthquake — at least not so directly. Will God judge Haiti for its spiritual darkness? Of course. Is the judgment of God something we can claim to understand in this sense — in the present? No, we are not given that knowledge. Jesus himself warned his disciples against this kind of presumption.
Does God Hate Haiti
Mr. Mohler and I would disagree about a lot of things but I agree with him on this one.
The typical Christian’s response to war, along with many of the political positions of the religious right in this country, is the result of the escapist eschatology of the modern American church, but that is a topic for another day.