So it is a very very dark time in Myanmar–with tens of thousands dead from Cyclone Nargis, which made landfall on May 2nd.
Along with all the dark truth about how this is going to very negatively affect rather a lot of people in Burma, which is #132 out of 177 on the Human Development Index, especially in light of the current developing world food crisis, as well as some truth about the extent to which such a storm is a result of climate change, I think there’s a lot of puzzle pieces which point to hope:
See for instance, this list in the International Herald Tribune, with pledges of US$12 million and lots of logistical aid from 15 different nations. Here’s the really crazy thing. The population of Burma in 1900 was 10 million. Now it’s 55 million. If the disaster had taken place in 1900:
I don’t have the beginnings of an answer to any of these questions (ask someone with an appropriate Ph.D.). But I have a strong suspicion that the changes between the answers for “In 1900″ and “In 2008″ are solid grounds for a little joy and hope in the midst of heart-wrenching disaster.
A good friend recently wrote to me, in the context of a discussion of the ongoing violence in Tibet with regards to the upcoming Olympics in China
Imagine the international goodwill if they [the Chinese] decided to give Tibet back and allow the Dalai Lama to return when the Olympics start
This struck me as such an absurdly hopeful idea that I decided he must be a Christian or something. (as a general lack of hope is part of what keeps me from still being a Christian).
And it led me to ponder: What could Americans do to generate a similar amount of international good will? Or the Jews? Or the Palestinians? Or the Russians? Or the French, or the British, or the Aussies (whose new prime minister, I must say, is doing a bonzer job along these lines). (Why is it I mostly think of the powerful (apart from the Palestinians, I guess)–I suppose because it’s the powerful who seem to generate the most ill will?)
But mostly, I’m thinking about America, I guess, since I’m from here. I honestly couldn’t think of anything. I can feel my mind tickling at the edges of some ideas, but my refusal to hope, I think, shuts them down. What do y’all think?
Your top three ideas for generating international good will?
Top answer gets a free Gerald R. Ford class aircraft carrier (as soon as we can find a spare US$8 Billion)
Posted in Good News, Hope | 7 Comments »“Because of God’s tender mercy,
the light from heaven is about to break upon us,
to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death,
and to guide us to the path of peace.”
- Luke 1:78-79
Posted in Hope | 1 Comment »I do hope I won’t offend any of our atheist or agnostic readers. But I found Jim Wallis’ Prayer for 2008 which got sent out today to be profoundly hopeful. It touches on some of my own hopes–but where I tend to be a tiny bit cynical, Jim manages to remain steadfastly hopeful. Good on him. Here’s the opening paragraphs.
The year of 1968 was very significant in my life, and a decisive one for the nation. It was the year when the hopes borne by the social movements of the 1950’s and 60’s were dashed by the assassinations of, first, Martin Luther King Jr., and then Robert F. Kennedy.
If Robert Kennedy had lived to become president on the inside (as he surely would have) and Martin Luther King Jr. had lived to lead a movement from the outside, the U.S. and the world might be very different today. But the most hopeful political leader of his time and the most important movement leader of the century were both struck down, and 1968 was the turning point when everything began to go wrong in America. I remember my feelings at the time vividly. King had been the leader of the movements that had captured my imagination and commitment as a young activist; and Kennedy was the only politician who won my political trust. I was getting ready to take a break from college to work on his presidential campaign when he was killed.
Ever since 1968, the door has been closed to real social change in the U.S. Since 1968, we have been wandering in the wilderness. The coming New Year - 2008 - marks 40 years of that wandering, a passage of time I have been pondering as we enter into it.
Read the rest of Jim’s Prayer for 2008