... then it's the tsunami that will bring us together ...

Suddenly, we are simply humans again.

Watching footage of the massive wave, the unfathomable devastation, and the largest relief efforts ever mounted ... all at once, political battles seem a pale use of energy.

Earth took the upper hand here.

On the radio yesterday played one of my favorite Smiths songs: "If it's not love, then it's the bomb that will bring us together." Earth's "bomb" will do.

There is no political orientation to this suffering. No one to blame. We come together to relieve the suffering of human beings. There's a hushed purity to it.

We can see the effect: Corporations are competing to out-give each other. The combined $54 million in corporate gifts eclipsed the $35 million first amount promised by the US government (since upped to $350 million). Now governments too are competing to top each other. As UN humanitarian chief Jan Egeland said, "I'd rather see competitve compassion, than no compassion." To me, this is a great sign -- the first humanitarian arms race! We need to celebrate this.

Private giving has reached $200 million. Before our eyes, the Internet has metamorphosed into a powerful tool to organize compassion. Levels of individual donations have been unprecedented for an international disaster. One example, according to the Christian Science Monitor, the charitable Catholic Relief Services (CRS) generally collects about $700,000 in disaster aid each year. Over the last week, CRS tallied more than $9.1 million.

The Monitor suggests that this heralds fundamental changes in the culture of giving, both in the US and worldwide.

More signs of shift: Military POW/MIA forensic supplies & expertise are being used to help locate and identify tsunami victims. Sailors on the USS Abraham Lincoln constructed a potable water manifold in 8 hours and are filling thousands of water jugs to be flown on Navy helicopters to isolated regions in Sumatra.

Christians and Jews are helping Muslims and Hindus and Buddists because they're humans and they need help. Hey, there's a concept.

Even impoverished North Korea has chipped in with a pledge of $150,000. (Guess that would make them not so evil.) Convicts in Malaysia are donating money earned doing prison work. War-torn Afghanistan plans to send doctors.

And the rich guys -- the so-called Group of 8 big industrial nations -- following Canada's lead last week, look like they're about to agree to freeze debt repayments or write off the debts for the affected countries. Hey, there's another concept.

So it can be in all things.

Look what we can do when we need to -- when we choose to.

It has all made clear to me that peace itself -- and the work to build it -- is and should be a non-partisan issue. That, from now on, is my stand, my assumption. My operating principle.


NB: If you're becoming bewildered trying to decide where to donate the money you earn doing prison work ... the best site I've seen is Network for Good. They describe all the various efforts complete with thorough backgrounds on the charitable organizations involved.

Congresswoman meeting update

Just talked today with my congresswoman's scheduler and found that my representative, Diane Watson, will be touring southeast Asia to survey the extent of damage due to the tsunami, so appointments are on hold till February. I'll contact her office again in early Feb.

Leave No Sales Pitch Behind (New York Times Editorial)

I expect moms will soon be screaming at their congresspeople.

Bush's Orwellian double-speak No Child Left Behind Act requires schools to provide names, addresses and phone numbers of students to military recruiters or risk losing federal aid. Yeah, this is a positive message to be sending kids -- strong arm the education system to cough up contact info so we can hoodwink more poor kids to kill for us. All of this, as the article says, in a law invoked in the name of children -- God forbid.

excerpt: "military recruiters can blitz youngsters with uninvited phone calls to their homes and on-campus pitches replete with video war games."


The New York Times > Opinion > Editorial: Leave No Sales Pitch Behind