Something bigger than myself

There are times when I wonder if a blog is one of the more narcissistic exercises one can engage in. You know, writing about yourself, your day, your trials and tribulations, successes, etc.

Sometimes, it can all be a bit much.

Which is why, today, we take a time out to discuss a place I've never been to, and a place I wish I could help.

The island nation of Haiti was hit with a giant earthquake, as everyone around the world knows, on Jan. 12. And I find myself, after reading as much of the news accounts as I can, feeling helpless about this country that I know almost nothing about. Some names come to mind, of course. Wyclef Jean. And three dictators, Jean-Bertrand Aristide, and the Duvaliers, Jean-Claude Duvalier and his father, "Papa Doc" Duvalier.

And I realize that's pretty much what the rest of the world knew about Haiti up until now. A few names. Perhaps they knew that's where "voodoo" supposedly comes from. That's pretty much all I knew. I did know that the country was one in massive political and economic strife. And viewing the pictures, reading the accounts, seeing the video and the news shows, it looks worse than any place I've ever seen in my life.

Such massive human suffering, in a country that was already suffering so much. So much physical destruction in a country with no building codes and flimsy infrastructure to begin with. Only the tsunami that struck at the end of 2004 matches this. I think the toll from Haiti will end up being much worse than the giant wave that washed upon parts of Thailand and other places.

It's as if someone bludgeoned an already crippled soul. Who would do such a thing? I almost wonder, why would God allow something like that to happen? I've not been there, but I heard many parts of New Orleans and the Gulf Coast may never recover from what happened when Katrina hit in 2005. And this is in a first-world country, mind you, with good infrastructure, a stable government and aid readily available.

In Haiti? People struggle just to sell charcoal for pennies a day. Nearly all of the country's rich forested lands have been laid barren by the burning of wood for resources. On a good day, I'd venture to guess you'd be lucky to have running water and electricity in your home -- never mind the Internet or even reinforced concrete holding up the place you call home.

What will happen to Haiti? Will it rebuild? Will it slide into a state of permanent chaos and uproar where rubble and ruin stay in the streets forever? Is it possible the people of this French-African Caribbean nation stand up and say they will no longer stand for corruption, for widespread, permanent and pervasive poverty, and create, in effect, a new nation?

The only way for it to get worse is complete anarchy -- and you can bet that even as planes from the United States and coalitions from the United Nations send flotillas of rescue workers, food, medical supplies, drinking water and triage materials to Haiti -- that the world, including the U.S. -- will be watching nervously from a political standpoint as the country tries to recover, rebuild and perhaps reinvent itself after this massive tragedy.