el Dios de la Muerte

In this particular moment in time, I am optimistic. I have great faith in humanity. I believe in basic human goodness, in man’s compassion and selflessness. I believe that man is capable of rising above selfishness and greed. The moment won’t last. But while it does, my rational mind has arrived at the following conclusion.

I believe that, if the above is true, the obstacle to saving the peoples of the world, to extracting masses of people from the jaws of starvation, disease, poverty and death, is fear. I believe that if the above is true, this is a rational conclusion. In other words, I think that what prevents mass mobilization of humanitarian aid and the delivery of immediate necessary supplies (food, medicine), of an international military force to dispatch those who have put these people in need of such aid, as well as delivery of education (to form sustainable communities for the future and prevent the disaster from re-occurring), I think that what is preventing all these things from happening is fear.

I believe that if man wants to help, if he is all the things I have, in this moment of great faith, chosen to believe he is, then the only explanation for why he does not is fear. That this fear comes from two basic beliefs: 1) that there’s not enough food to feed the world; and 2) that it’s hopeless.

Both beliefs are erroneous. Both are a result of political propaganda and misinformation spread by various agendas constructed to pour money and popular support into other venues. The first plays to man’s basic instinct for survival. The second counts on man’s propensity to become overwhelmed by disaster. If people are told that in order to give to some other people, whatever is given must be taken away from them, that it’s their survival or your own, people will react with the only one sensible reaction – they will want to save themselves. If people are bombarded with statistics of endless horror, without suggestions of touchable, practical solutions, and with an accompanying commentary that it is completely unclear what exactly the problem is, let alone how to solve it, in other words if you can convince people that it’s completely hopeless, and that therefore any aid is useless and will be for nothing, if you can speak of corrupt governments, politicians and war-lords who will be the ones benefiting from any aid sent, while people you watch on television and for whom your heart bleeds will never see any of it, people will again react in a predictable, and, well, truth be told, sensible way – they will not want to send aid for nothing, they will especially not want to send it to feed the problem. Combine the two, and you have a powerful excuse for inaction indeed. Who in their right mind would want to deprive themselves and their families, put them in possible mortal peril, to help some murderers? Would you? I wouldn’t.

These scenarios are fiction used to perpetuate inaction, and mass murder. Crimes against humanity.

So I think about New Orleans again. You see, I and half the world, have been wracking our brains about this. About why a great, wealthy nation, a symbol of hope and prosperity to much of this world, has let this city drown and continue drowning. Why does it do nothing? Why does it keep saying that it can’t? How can this be? Well, it can’t be because it isn’t. America can, but it won’t. Why is that? There are multiple reasons why, some undoubtedly more relevant than what I am about to propose. But tonight, I am simplistic, remember tonight I believe in the basic goodness of man. So while I have this picture of man as opposed to a sulfur-breathing monster in my head, I think that part of the reason why is firmly connected to another governmental agenda. I think that the lack of aid to New Orleans on the pretense of inability, is a little more sinister then inapt leaders and ineffective disaster response teams, and a little broader then refusal to help the "undesirables" (the poor of this one city). I think that it can be used to justify inaction on other fronts. In the following way. If America is not able to, for whatever reason, adequately help its own citizens and cities, then how on earth can it help anyone else? Then how can this World expect aid from such a desperate and helpless country? Can’t they see we’re suffering here? We can’t help them.

It’s a horrifying logic, isn’t it? To let a city drown, to let people suffer so that you can further justify inaction. Horrifying, but perhaps not so far-fetched.

Furthermore, we send money and look what they do! New Orleans has squandered millions of dollars, some through ineffective policy, some through inaptness of those in charge, some through corruption. Why should we give them more? They’ll just do the same. This has been an excuse for inaction all over the world. New Orleans, the Balkans, Africa, South and Central America, Iraq. You name the place it’s been done. Because Big Brother knows best, is untouched by corruption and knows how to fix the problem.

But it doesn’t add up. If it knows how to fix the problem, then how is it unable to do so? I mean if it’s flawless, then the plea that it cannot help everyone is illogical. One contradicts the other.

Aha. You see this is where that – it’s a mess, no one knows what’s going on there, it’s enormous, it’s completely overwhelming comes in.

Reality is far different. There IS enough food to feed the world. It takes so little to turn what’s seemingly enormous and hopeless to enormous hope. Likewise, it is actually very easy to identify the causes of disaster, and remove them. It only takes a little research. There is no inability to feed the world, there is no inability of a wealthy country to support its own people and defend them from possible tragedies while also sending aid to other places in need, there is only a lack of want. American humanitarian aid, when the numbers are adjusted to per capita income and overall wealth of the nation, is one of the lowest in the world. The statistic is shameful.

I believe it, and other similar statistics, are a result of clever political propaganda which gave rise to those two erroneous beliefs.

What do we do? Destroy these murderous myths and replace them with reality. How?

1. Replace bullshit with real statistics.
2. Analyze real statistics with real mathematics, not the voodoo algorithms of agendas, which never make sense not because people are idiots and unable to understand the math. It impossible to understand because it’s not real.
3. Replace hysterical news broadcasts that speak of overwhelming disasters in which nothing makes sense with drama-free reporting supported by thorough research, clear identification of problems and statement of needs to eradicate the problem. All of this exists, the research, the facts, the point-by-point outlines of needs and solutions. Humanitarian organizations, including the UN, and so many NGOs, have this information. It’s just waiting.

Simple? In theory. Practice is a different story. Crimes against humanity flower in the fertile soil of ignorance.

I can’t think of a way to eradicate the type of ignorance I speak of here, except by educating yourself and then everyone you come in contact with, by plastering reality on every lamp post, on every door, by speaking to every mind, willing and unwilling, by repeating statistics and delivering practical solutions until you’re blue in the face and your throat is horse, and your eyes bloodshot (it takes a lot of time, sleep suffers). Also I think a critical component is supporting those whose voices will be heard by large audiences (like Anderson Cooper and Angelina Jolie), and any other working towards this goal, as well as, of course, relief workers themselves, in any way you can think of. Better yet, ask them what they need. They'll tell you. Sometimes they need a flier made, an article written. Sometimes they just need to know they’re not talking to walls. Sometimes they just need you to convince them (yes, even when you can’t convince yourself) that people are not monsters, that they really are essentially good and caring only frightened. Sometimes they just need to talk, tell someone the horros they've seen, or speak of frustration and doubt that's about to eat them alive, and all you have to do is free them of it by absorbing it into yourself (that's not so easy, be careful, know how much you can take, else you become useless).

We have got to get this message across. We have got to erradicate these myths. We must succeed. Failure is not an option. Failure means death. Failure means el Dios de la Muerte every day, with an ever decreasing attendance of the living and an ever increasing presence of screaming ghosts.