Today during Palm Sunday mass during the homily the priest reminded us all to continue to pray for the families of the massacred children from Newton, Connecticut. Though this was in the news quite recently, only a few months ago, isn't is amazing how quickly the general public forgets about it?
There are some things that will never really go out of mind, things like 9.11. But for those uninvolved in the more local tragedies, society expresses their condolences for what they may deem an appropriate amount of time, whether that is through donations or otherwise, and they are more than happy to move on with their lives from that point on. Just to make note, I am totally guilty of this too!
It is far too easy to write a check, or write a letter to someone or even post something on Facebook or Twitter recognizing sadness and expressing how you feel to the world. And yet, it seems that after doing one simple little action that we have been acquitted of our responsibility to be there for those people, continue supporting them and encouraging them and sharing in the struggles. There is something very wrong with that and until today, I had never even realized it was happening.
Though it's hard to remember something when it doesn't really affect your daily life. In my case, Hurricane Sandy is something that will affect my daily life upon returning to Jersey. Many of the boardwalks that once existed along the miles of ocean in New Jersey were destroyed, washed away, or damaged. Rebuilding something like that will take years. Now, to put things in perspective, I'm even from this area, and I still have done squat to help. I had intended to volunteer in rebuilding or cleanup efforts while I was home for winter break and let it sit on the back burner the entire time, content to only tell people, "Yes, I'm planning on getting involved."
In so many cases, actions speak louder than words. If you know people suffering from some sort of tragedy in their lives, speak up and let them know you're there if they need you. Too many prayers and cries for help go unheard. Too many souls are lost in their despair, unable to dig themselves out of a hole. But if we all make just a small change in our lives, perhaps we can all lend a helping hand and get those people out of their rut.
Yes it's easy to forget about tragedies once they exit the news cycle. I think I am guilty of this too, as I realized I hadn't thuoght about Newton for a long time until reading this post.
ReplyDeleteme too. i easily forget about tragedies that's out of news
ReplyDeleteWhen I was in New Orleans 2 weeks ago, I talked to a bunch of people whose lives were impacted by Hurricane Katrina 8 years ago and they are still dealing with the aftermath from that storm. Before heading down there, I knew about the hurricane and the tragedy that happened there in 2005 but little did I know how much of an impact that storm still had on the city. I guess it's hard to truly empathize with people's tragedies unless you have some sort of a personal connection. I don't know the people in Newtown, Connecticut or Joplin, Missouri or have anyone close to me murdered and I've never seen a tornado in my life. Now that I've been to New Orleans and seen areas of the city that are still pretty much abandoned from Katrina and learned about what they still need in terms of a full recovery, I think I definitely understand the situation better and it's an experience I don't think I'll soon forget. With my friends as well, we open up to each other about what's going on in our daily lives so we're definitely there for each other if we need it.
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