It sounds like dementia. It’s cynical grandstanding, and pandering to the worst element, most likely.
As most American read the news and watched the images coming from Haiti in horror, and as thousands of people with good hearts rushed to volunteer or donate to relief efforts, typical-but-sickening responses came from Rush Limbaugh and Pat Robertson.
For Limbaugh, the 7.0-magnitude earthquake represented only an opportunity for President Barack Obama to build his base of support from “light-skinned and dark-skinned black community in this country.”
Limbaugh apparently saw no need to send help to the devastated country. He noted, “We’ve already donated to Haiti. It’s called the U.S. income tax.”
Way to go, Limbaugh. You’ve shown once more that you’re an opinionated bigot, without one drop of compassion or mecy flowing through your veins. You’re all about nastiness and attempts to score points with the rabid right. Then laugh all the way to the bank, of course.
Limbaugh defenders say his comments were taken out of context, though nobody seems to be buying that. Fine, then. Let Limbaugh publicly donate a big chunk of his own personal money to relief efforts, and make a PSA apologizing and asking people to donate to one of the relief organizations. Then I’ll believe he didn’t mean it the way it was.
See some relief organizations listed right here at The Beacon.
My biggest beef is with Robertson, since he likes to portray himself as a man of the cloth.
Robertson blamed the death and devastation on a curse the people of Haiti brought on themselves. It was because, he said, they made a pact with the devil years ago, to get free of French rule.
“They said, ‘we will serve you if you will get us free from the French.’ True story. And so, the devil said, ‘OK, it’s a deal,’” Robertson claimed, on a recording of his CBN show.
While Robertson may claim special status as a “good Christian” who’ll likely get beamed up during the Rapture while the rest of us slobs get tortured here on Earth, he should think again.
It’s convenient and politically helpful to blame the victim, when the victim is someone who can’t do you any good, but who needs your help.
If it’s “God’s punishment,” why, that makes it easy to turn away. After all, who wants to get in God’s way?
But, someone who calls himself a Christian should read the Bible. It tells us rain falls on the just and unjust, and good people can suffer, while the wicked prosper.
The Gospel of Matthew 9:35-38 tells us:
35Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness. 36When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. 37Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. 38Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.”
So, when Jesus sees a multitude of sick, tired, hurt people, he responds with compassion. He sends his disciples into the field to help them and teach them. There’s nothing about how they brought it on themselves.
Jesus said, “My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you.” (John 15:11-13).
So, Mr. Robertson, I ask you: Where’s your love? Where’s your compassion?
Even in the Old Testament, we learn more of God’s compassion than his wrath. In the Book of Isaiah, God says, “Can a mother forget the baby at her breast and have no compassion on the child she has borne? Though she may forget, I will not forget you!”
He is not forgetting the people of Haiti.
Perhaps compassion should be the word of the day.
Perhaps if Limbaugh and Robertson were dropped into one of the most devastated areas of Haiti — one where there is no food, no clean water, no medicines, no shelter — and left there for a few weeks, perhaps then, they would learn a little compassion.
