Sustainability.

I have been thinking alot about sustainability this week, on a personal level as well as on a national and international level. As individuals and as nations, we often ask extraordinary things of ourselves, we struggle to find the right way, we sometimes stumble, yet we continue to move forward, hoping to get it right in the end... or at least enough that we can ultimately be forgiven any shortcomings we might be guilty of along the way.

I am not surprised by what our country has offered to those suffering so terribly in Haiti. I only hope that in this and in every endeavor we carefully walk the line of remembering that we can't help anyone if we don't first help ourselves. If anything, moments like these should underscore why it is important for the United States to get things right within our own borders, as we can't continue to offer assistance to the world if we fail at home.

The shoulders--as a wise Geometry teacher advised me during my sophomore year of high school--can only be so broad. We have to keep our eyes on the ball regardless of distraction or tragedy. I hope that we can do that. We are no use to the drowning if--exhausted and weak ourselves--we reach out to save them only to let them pull us under.

"You and I have a rendezvous with destiny. We will preserve for our children, the last best hope of man on earth, or we will sentence them to take the first step into a thousand years of darkness. If we fail, at least let our children and our children's children say of us we justified our brief moment here. We did all that could be done." --Ronald Reagan

"Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn't pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same, or one day we will spend our sunset years telling our children and our children's children what it was once like in the United States where men were free." --Ronald Reagan

If you are able and inclined, you can donate $10 to assist the Red Cross with their efforts in Haiti by texting “Haiti” to 90999. If you want more details, go to http://www.redcross.org.

Comments

[Mark A]

It's true. I think most of this country's problem is we are so distracted trying to save everyone that we are failing ourselves.

[Jackie D]

I wonder how much of what we donate actually gets to the areas that need it most...

[Nick Lewis]

Is Haiti a state? Why should the U.S. be stung by criticism? Last time I checked, we aren't solely responsible for the well-being of the entire world.
http://www.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/americas/01/21/haiti.earthquake/index.html?hpt=T1

[Dan Madison]

@Nick. No kidding. I think the United States should do all it can, but the criticism gets old.

[Casey Andrew]

Haiti had so many issues even before the earthquake... I don't understand at what point we'll be able to say, okay, now you are at least restored to your original devastating situation vs the one exacerbated by the quake...

[Mark A]

http://www.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/americas/01/28/haiti.hospital.ship/index.html?hpt=T2