Buried or Informed Heads?

What does it take to shake you up?  What gets your dander up?  I’m not talking about having to wait in line at your favorite restaurant, or the inconvenience of having to go to a different grocery because yours is out of your favorite cereal.  The truth is that most of us are so immune, or anesthetized to shocking stories that we hardly react anymore.  For the most part we are numb to world and cultural pain unless it affects us directly.  We reason there’s not much we can do about it so we are quick to open a different webpage, or change the channel instead of reading, or hearing another tragic, or sad story.  Consider just a cursory glance of a few of this week’s potentially troubling stories:

• West Virginia man accused of holding wife hostage and torturing her for over a decade
• Syrian Government continues to kill innocent citizens (one of many similar stories)
• U.S. Olympic Team to wear uniforms made in China
• U.S. government can’t say how much of the $51-billion U.S. tax dollars used to rebuild Iraq has been wasted, but the Inspector General’s office says it is “substantial”
• Penn State leaders and coach sat on Sandusky accusations of sexual abuse for years

And this barely touches the surface of the pain, heartache, suffering, danger and pure evil occurring in our world.  No, we can’t personally carry the weight of every injustice and pain caused in the world, but we can be aware of them.  We can choose to be informed and arm ourselves with more information instead of ignoring it and hoping it will go away.  There are some proactive things we can do too.

We can write various authorities or leaders and voice our displeasure and disagreement with various policies, actions, or situations.  We can write newspapers and blog posts addressing such wrongs.  We can pray asking God to bring justice, healing, peace and comfort to those who suffer. We can give financially to helping various causes that seek to address issues such as child slavery, domestic violence, government waste, etc.  We can cast “informed” votes that seek to address various issues through political action and/or, policy.  We can do a lot, but we can’t do anything if we bury our heads in the sand and play ostrich.  One day we may be the victim, patient, or one suffering at the irresponsible/malicious hands and actions of others.  And then I guarantee we will care if someone else is paying attention and acting.  There but for the grace of God goes any of us!