It's been a while since I've written here......(been trying to re-define the word "busy.")

     I write today, with troubled heart. I have heard things over the past week in reference to the Haitians and the problems they are now suffering, due to the devastation that has ruined their nation.  Some of the thing I have heard are:

      "Why should we get involved?"

      "Why should we send them money when our nation is in debt?"

      "Who has helped us when we've been in trouble?"

     Those were the negatives. These things I have heard in work, and on my way home, in the grocery stores. Not once yet, have I offered my opinion. I do better with a keyboard under my fingers. However, some of the positives I have heard are:

      "My God, I feel like adopting those poor children."

      "They need our help so badly; they have no place to go."

      "They need our help, but we shouldn't adopt them because if we bring them here, who will be left to rebuild their country?"

     I apologize if this ends up being a long blog, but the things I'm going to say, are things that need to be said. (Hey....the fingers haven't written in a while.....they need a workout.:)

     I'll address the comments one-by-one. First....Why should we get involved? I would classify that question as the most selfish statement I have ever heard. Why? Well folks, because they are people that need help. I won't take up your time and explain to you that no matter how bad you have it, if you are listening to a radio, reading this news on your computer, driving a car to work every day, and have a roof over your head, then you who ask such a question should be ashamed. The other day I was in a store getting ready to pay for my groceries. The woman in front of me needed some stamps but the store was out of them. I handed her three that I had in my pocket and she said, "Sir, thank you so much, but I don't have a dollar bill to pay you." I said, "Don't worry about it. I hope this helps." She looked me straight in the eye and said, "that's the nicest thing anyone has done for me in a long time. Thank you so much." I told her that she could pay me back by passing the gesture on to someone else. But then I thought about it. What does that say for our people? If the nicest thing anyone has done for this lady had a value of just over a dollar, then our society is in some significant need for help. It goes way beyond helping another country. There are some here that won't even help the person standing next to them. We "get involved" because it's the right thing to do. Stop being selfish and get over yourself. If everyone helped everyone, there would be no such thing as war. Give it some thought. If this is the way you feel, then really look deep into yourself. You need to make some changes.

     Why should we send them money, when our nation is in debt?  In debt to what?.... Dollars?.... Gold?....Oil?....Give me a break! The value of money is declining. No matter what the computer says about the debt of our nation, we are, in fact, rich beyond the dreams of Solomon. We are a nation of two and three car families. We are a nation who has dozens of Nuclear power plants. We have agriculture, and all the means we need to be a self sustaining nation for centuries to come. We are an educated country with schools by the thousands. We have thrift shops full of clothing that has been donated because "we replaced it with other clothing".....we have food banks filled with food that is "out dated.".....We have water, dairy farms, crops, wildlife, and natural resources for millions of square miles. We have technology, medicine, doctors, and the most powerful military on the planet. ..........In debt?  Maybe......but I'd say we have the means to help, no matter what some politician's calculator says.

     Who has helped us when we've been in trouble?

       Have we been? What?.........9/11?.........Um.........folks.....here's a news flash for ya. That wasn't a situation where we needed outside help. It was a disaster, yes, but it didn't involved rendering millions of people homeless in the blink of an eye. It didn't kill hundreds of thousands and cripple our nation nearly beyond repair. Nuff said on that.

     On adopting their children.........You that feel this way are truly blessed. Even if it is not within your means, just to know that you feel the need to is reassuring to me. It reassures me that there are still many of us that "want to get involved," and who will most likely open the door for someone who has their hands full of all that they own.

    " We shouldn't bring their children here, because they need to leave someone behind to rebuild their nation." ----

     I understand your feelings, however I'd like you to thing a little deeper into the situation. The nation has been crushed. Schools have been obliterated. They were weak before this happened, and they are weaker now. Hurricane season is only 5 months away, and Haiti is usually right in the path of some of the worst storms that come off the African coast. How could that nation sustain a category 4 or 5 Hurricane right now? It would be the finishing blow. The homeless would all die. There would be nobody left to "rebuild." There is hope, by bringing them here, educating them on what they can do to help their country, and then returning with strength, an educated mind, and possibly the resources to rebuild a devastated country.

     If we were walking down the street, and were attacked by 5 men, beaten, robbed and left for dead, we'd find it within ourselves to seek help and try to survive. But what if we stood up, headed for a place to get help, and then we were attacked again? Would we have the strength to survive? Likely not. But, what if we were to be immediately transported to a place where we could patch ourselves up, regain strength, and maybe even become stronger than ever. Then we could go back to that street and walk with our head held high and if our 5 would-be tough guys came at us, we may be able to give them a little heads-up on why they shouldn't have left us to die.

     It all boils down to people helping people. Let's be nice! Yes......I've said it a thousand times.....JUST BE NICE! Help other people when they are in need. If you really want to know how we were meant to be.....Listen to Clay Walker's "Chain of Love." It's on You Tube. Watch the video......listen....and learn. The golden rule wasn't an invented phrase. It is a way of life. Put away your childish and selfish feelings, those of you who wish not to get involved. Those that wish they could get involved....maybe you can....just by helping the people right around you by doing something nice for them.

     Be well all! Be safe..........and keep driving forward!