“Ten people who speak make more noise than ten thousand who are silent.” - Napoleon Bonaparte
Happy new year...
2010... here we come. here we are not out of January and we are already knee deep into the muck. I guess the challenge for any normal thinking person is to not take life as serious as we could. It's hard to not see the events that affect our world and become depressed. The Haiti situation is devastating, and we seem to be seeing more and more of these natural disasters in recent times. The tsunami that hit the Philippines, Hurricane Katrina, and now the earthquake in Haiti.
My religious friends deem this an act of God's vengeance, and while I have (and will probably continue) to debate the rationale of that argument, It definitely hits home. I don't believe that this horror is somehow vengeance from God for a questionable past. I prefer to believe that science had a lot to do with the earthquake and that idiots like Pat Robertson should not be seen and definitely not be heard.
That said, I read a great article by Sir Hilary Beckles on Haiti and how the French have done more damage to Haiti than this earthquake ever could.
What can not be argued is that millions of people are now in peril and countries who never gave a damn about Haiti before, seem to have changed their minds. It's funny how natural disasters do that, but human made tragedies don't. While I will not debate the need for aid in Haiti now, where has that aid been the past 100+ years? How is it that human rights violators like Mugabe and Bashir still walk free while millions are fighting for their very lives? The logic escapes me.
Here at home, all seems quiet. I knew Perry Puckerin from his participation in Devonshire Rec's youth program. To say that I was shocked to find out about his murder would be putting it mildly. In the recent years I knew him, he was a genuinely warm and funny guy, and he never ever showed any signs of the lifestyle that ultimately took his. RIP Perry... you will be missed.
Lot's of talk about the gang situation and what we can do. Had a chance to hear Dr. Matthews last night at DRC and he connects on a lot of levels. I'm a supporter of Rise Above Bermuda and wish him all the best, It's nice to see good people do good things in our community. Let's hope that it's contagious.
