As we’ve watched the tragic events unfolding in Haiti this past week we must not get trapped in to thinking that this was just an earthquake. That the terrible suffering we see there is the result of an “act of God”. In fact, to even start to think in such terms is to place the blame on God for things which are own fault.
To be sure, no one could have predicted the earthquake would happen when it did. But we can predict, with 100% accuracy, that an earthquake would eventually happen right where it did. We know the way our world works on that level – we have developed sufficient knowledge to simply know that at some time or another, the ground beneath us will shake violently.
Because we know this, we here in the United States – and especially in the more earthquake-prone areas – have continually refined our construction techniques to account for the inevitable shaking of the earth.
In 1994 the earthquake in Northridge, California was a bit less powerful than the Haiti quake but had one of the highest “ground acceleration” factors ever recorded – and that is what really does the damage. This was a devastating quake – about $20 billion in property damage was done. And 72 lives were lost. 72. Low estimates in Haiti are for 50,000 dead. Why the big difference?
Human failure.
The technology required to make a building withstand an earthquake is not cutting edge – and not terribly expensive, either. It does cost, but it costs far less than the cost of rebuilding once the place is leveled – and that is outside the human cost, in lives, once the building falls. Why aren’t buildings in Haiti so constructed? Because the contractors won’t build them so, and the government can be bribed to ignore the building codes, and the people of Haiti do not insist that their government work in the interests of the people.
So, its all Haiti’s fault? Not at all. For two centuries Haiti has been a grossly misgoverned nation. It is not possible to speak of any time in Haitian history that the Haitian government did credit to itself – nor is there a time in Haitian history where we can really point out selfless heroism in defense of the people on the part of the people of Haiti. And the rest of the world – knowing that this is the case – never stepped in. Never set about bringing justice to a blighted land.
After all, its a poor nation and it doesn’t have any natural wealth to speak of and, hey, out of sight and out of mind. Haiti is in sight, today, because so many people have died. But a week from now it will start to fade from view and as long as there is no new disaster, a year from now Haiti will be completely out of our minds. But they will still be our brothers and sisters living there and its almost a certainty that they’ll be just as badly misgoverned in January of 2011 as they were right now – meaning that if another earthquake, or a hurricane, were to strike, we’d be right back there, again, trying to rescue the people.
It is not possible for us to fix all the world’s problems. Only God can do that. But there is this to think about. When we speak of our sins in Church, we don’t just talk about what we did wrong, but also about what we failed to do right. It isn’t enough that I refrain from stealing – I must also help that poor beggar at my door. Can I feed all the beggars, all by myself? No, but if God presents a beggar to me, I have an obligation to help. Haiti has been presented to us.
Once I have given the beggar a sandwich, is my moral obligation complete? If all I have is a sandwich, it is. But if I have more, then my obligation continues. I don’t have an obligation to actually work for the beggar, but I do have an obligation to do as much as is in my power. By rushing to Haiti with food and medicine we are doing a wonderful thing – but if we think that once we’ve bandaged them up and given them a meal that we’re all done, then we are sadly mistaken. And we are, additionally, just set up to have to do it all over again, until we get it right.
We, the people of the United States of America, cannot solve all problems – but we can solve this problem. Haitians are not the particular problem – those who live in the United States are some of our hardest working citizens. But, some how, back in Haiti these same splendid people can’t seem to climb out of squalor. What gives? Simple – in the United States, defective as it is, there is a government which ensures that justice is done and malfeasance is punished. Anyone who puts up a building which pancakes in an earthquake is at least open to civil penalty, and maybe for criminal liability. There is no such thing in Haiti – and, two centuries on, we have to admit that it won’t spring up naturally in that country.
What they can’t do for themselves, at the moment, is precisely what we are morally required to do if we can. Can we turn Haiti in to a protectorate and provide that justice and honesty in government which will allow the people of Haiti to both flourish and learn the value of honest government? Certainly, we can – and it would be, in any case, less expensive than having to rush to the rescue every few years, as is now the case.
We have to let go of a false morality which says that a nation, as such, has a right to complete self-determination. Most nations do – but most nations can also ensure that buildings are constructed with at least minimal safety in mind. It is also false morality to state that we dare not judge the society of Haiti by our own standards – that is just a cowardly dodge by which we pretend we don’t have an obligation, when we actually do. We must embrace the truth – and the truth is that millions of our brothers and sisters in Haiti are suffering, quite needlessly, simply because of the failure of good people to act in time.
It is time to step in. It is time to really help the long suffering people of Haiti – to rescue them not only from their current distress, but from their societal inability to construct a responsible government. This can be done – and the Haitian people can take their rightful place in the world…free, prosperous and able to completely look after their own affairs. But it can’t happen by incantation – we can’t just talk about good government in Haiti; we’re going to have to impose it.
Or, be right back where we are, today, a few years from now.
UPDATE: The Clinton-Bush Haiti Fund is up and running
Cross Posted: Noonan for Nevada
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