Haiti

[kat (1)]

Aftershocks that measured a 6.1 on the Richter scale hit Haiti this morning. Here is the link to the article.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/34928950/ns/world_news-haiti_earthquake

[Msterbeau]

Sad. As if the place wasn't messed up enough before the first quake... :-(

What really struck me from this article is the expectation of help from outside their own nation/government. I'm not sure how I feel about this. On the one hand, it says something about the world that when there is a great disaster, many nations and people contribute in the relief effort. But it worries me that so many people have this expectation and then lay blame on world if their expectations are not met. It's like self reliance is going the way of the dinosaur. With all the advances of modern society has come a significant erosion in personal knowledge and responsibility.

[Rev.Reverence]

Sad. As if the place wasn't messed up enough before the first quake... :-(

What really struck me from this article is the expectation of help from outside their own nation/government. I'm not sure how I feel about this. On the one hand, it says something about the world that when there is a great disaster, many nations and people contribute in the relief effort. But it worries me that so many people have this expectation and then lay blame on world if their expectations are not met. It's like self reliance is going the way of the dinosaur. With all the advances of modern society has come a significant erosion in personal knowledge and responsibility.

I am so glad you had such a nice way of putting that...I was having a hard time with it.

...that's disturbing...

...& 6.1...that's SOME aftershock...(I've been in rumblers before)

[Msterbeau]

I am so glad you had such a nice way of putting that...I was having a hard time with it.

...that's disturbing...

...& 6.1...that's SOME aftershock...(I've been in rumblers before)

Yeah... I guess anything smaller then the largest quake is an aftershock. 6.1 is a pretty damn big quake all by itself.

[Gaf The Horse With Tears]

There was another one yesterday in the Caymens... and one off Honduras the day before.... and Chavez got rocked a few days before that...

as for the expectation of releif... what exactly do you expect Haiti to do for themselves? They have NOTHING. 400 years of French invasion, slavery, dictators and despots. Revalution after revalution. They have nothing to work with.

[Tyger]

Its such a sad thing that has happened.

A lot of Canadians are there right now. Even some friends of friends of mine. I hope everyone is ok, and that the recovery proses for Haiti is quick.

We talked about it in our classes at school, its sad to hear when people say that this could be a good thing (beside the lacking of lives), but they can rebuild Haiti to be a new ecological place, like there doing now-a-days in some places around the world. Think they'll do that at Haiti?

[Msterbeau]

There was another one yesterday in the Caymens... and one off Honduras the day before.... and Chavez got rocked a few days before that...

as for the expectation of relief... what exactly do you expect Haiti to do for themselves? They have NOTHING. 400 years of French invasion, slavery, dictators and despots. Revolution after revolution. They have nothing to work with.

When I need help, I ask for it, but I don't expect it. It's not that they shouldn't get help, they absolutely should. How could we call ourselves human if we didn't offer others whatever help we had available? BUT.. The EXPECTATION of help... and the BLAMING if doesn't meet those expectations is what I wonder and worry about. This is not a Haiti specific thing, but it was brought to mind by words in the article from people there. Let me equate it to something else. Unions and job security. Unions have given their workers the idea that they automatically deserve a good paying job and that companies should preserve those jobs no matter what. While an attractive idea, in reality it makes for expensive products, kills worker productivity and threatens the ability of a business to survive lean times. Are unions useful? They have been, in order to secure better wages and working conditions, but the cost is very high. They EXPECT that job and because they do, they don't work to potential. Perhaps it's being fatalistic of me, but the Haitians and other disaster victims can't expect the world to save them. They must do, what all humans must in difficult times: Do the best to fend for themselves, support their neighbors and families if possible, and if help arrives, be grateful for it.

[Gaf The Horse With Tears]

When I need help, I ask for it, but I don't expect it. It's not that they shouldn't get help, they absolutely should. How could we call ourselves human if we didn't offer others whatever help we had available? BUT.. The EXPECTATION of help... and the BLAMING if doesn't meet those expectations is what I wonder and worry about. This is not a Haiti specific thing, but it was brought to mind by words in the article from people there. Let me equate it to something else. Unions and job security. Unions have given their workers the idea that they automatically deserve a good paying job and that companies should preserve those jobs no matter what. While an attractive idea, in reality it makes for expensive products, kills worker productivity and threatens the ability of a business to survive lean times. Are unions useful? They have been, in order to secure better wages and working conditions, but the cost is very high. They EXPECT that job and because they do, they don't work to potential. Perhaps it's being fatalistic of me, but the Haitians and other disaster victims can't expect the world to save them. They must do, what all humans must in difficult times: Do the best to fend for themselves, support their neighbors and families if possible, and if help arrives, be grateful for it.

OMG Marc... your becoming a Conservative!

[Msterbeau]

OMG Marc... your becoming a Conservative!

No. I'm just me. Espousing self-reliance while also giving people help when needed are not mutually exclusive ideas.

[n0Mad]

So Libertarian then.

[Msterbeau]

So Libertarian then.

I'm a political mutt, even if I quack like a liberal.

[Gaf The Horse With Tears]

I'm a political mutt, even if I quack like a liberal.

that I can respect. No one party has the market cornered on good ideas.

[candyman]

We talked about it in our classes at school, its sad to hear when people say that this could be a good thing (beside the lacking of lives), but they can rebuild Haiti to be a new ecological place, like there doing now-a-days in some places around the world. Think they'll do that at Haiti?

No they probably won't go completely in the ECO direction...mostly because in some way it is too late and in another way and is neither the time nor the place to do such a thing. Money, time, and a whole lotta other problems get in the way.

Besides the whole being nice thing it is in our best interest to support Haiti right now...I just got a bulletin that talks about how ethanol prices might rise because Haiti gave us a big chunk of the sugar cane used to make the stuff. If you didn't know we don't use only corn for it and we actually use less corn than anything else. Sugar cane makes better ethanol.

Anyways, we are all stuck on this planet together so we might as well help each other. Although, I am interested to see how America comes out of this. Haiti is more important for sure but I want to see if the efforts we have put forth so far, and it looks like alot of effort so far, will actually be taken well. Looking at our history with these things we might get yelled at for something yet...like starting the earthquake or something...