What's Wrong with the World

Last week, we had a killer storm and while I was out battling the flood waters, a couple of my neighbors stood and watched me. Nice. I was doing what I thought was a civic duty - clearing limbs out of the street and getting all the gunk off the nearby storm grates so the intersection wouldn't flood any worse. Sure, the street department came by and checked them after I was done. If I'd waited, they would've done the job, but that's not the point. With a city full of flooding intersections and downed power lines, the more people who could help, the faster everything would get done.

When did people start standing and watching rather than doing?

Last I heard, parts of New Orleans were still waiting for someone - the government - to come rebuild for them. Funny, other parts have been finished for a long time, because people did for themselves. Hell, Greenville, KS was razed to the ground and it's already rebuilt. Yeah, it was smaller, so easier to rebuild, but smaller also means they had fewer people to help.

When did people start waiting for someone else rather than helping themselves?

With a large portion of Christians in this country, you'd think they'd remember that the Lord helps those who help themselves. Not the Lord helps those who wait around for help. Ya know?

Sure, I could've stayed inside and watched the road in front of my house flood. I could've watched the idiots trying to make it down one navigable lane. I could've laughed at the inevitable car accident as people swerved around the big branch outside my picture window. Instead, I got off my derriere and moved the damn limb. I waded in up to my ankles and pulled. My feet got wet and cold, but I lived.

I did it because I can't conceive of sitting and watching when something needs to be done. I was raised to get out there and do it. Nowadays, people would rather let someone else do the heavy lifting. Bah. (I also kept the neighbor kids out of the water and the street, but that's a rant for another day.)

Anyway, that's today installment of What's Wrong with the World. It may become a regular feature, or not - depending on my level of need to vent.