Letters to Haiti

Abraham Lincoln once wrote, "The legitimate object of government is to do for people what needs to be done but which they cannot, by individual effort, do at all, or cannot do so well for themselves."

Historians, news makers, media pundits, and opinion makers spin this quotation a number of ways that match one's political leanings, so I'll offer mine. I think Lincoln meant that people have an obligation to humanity. People should help people in need.

My father knew something about this. Long before I even knew of such a word, he showed me, through his actions, the meaning of the word compassion. He had faith in the kindness of strangers and believed we all owed a debt of gratitude to our family and community.

I thought of this when I heard the NPR story of a group of 5th graders in northern California who reached out to students in Haiti, sending them cards & letters, packets of seeds, and wishes for better days. But my eyes immediately teared up when I heard these students were from Northridge, California. This city was the epicenter of an earthquake in 1994. Dozens were killed, thousands were left homeless. These students were not yet born during this quake, but the stories of tragedy and loss are apparently still alive in their families.

Some might say it's easier to be compassionate and empathetic when one has personally experienced loss. These children probably grew up repeatedly hearing stories of their parents' devastation in The Great Quake of '94. But these children are also growing up in a time, when they know they have the ability to reach out to people from all over the world and in the best cases, help those in need. And they have jumped at this opportunity.

This is the strength of a new generation. Start ripples here. Send waves of relief somewhere over there. My father would be proud of these kids.