Circuitous Noodle: Mother Nature sure seems angry these days.

Burma shows once again how a nation more concerned with military matters and public impression brings harm to their own populace.

The verdict is still out on the earthquake disaster in China but I would expect a similar story there, although they are sensitive to how they look before the Olympics.

Once again this is another message from a seemingly very angry Mother Nature highlighting the misplaced priorities of the human race. We spend too much time and money in an attempt to protect ourselves from those who are different. Too many resources are wasted on selfish needs while those in dire straights are ignored or worse yet used for our own lustful purposes.

Sometimes we get together for short periods of time to make ourselves feel better and look better by giving what is in most cases inadequate aid to those in the worst situations. At the same time though we’re using the third world as a plaything for our own economic and political needs. I'm not just speaking of my own United States because powerful or developed nations have all played a role and are equally guilty if not more so.

It wasn’t long ago when Kashmir and the surrounding region were suffering greatly from a severe earthquake. I find it interesting that this place was worth risking nuclear war over. Millions were spent by two impoverished countries willing to wage war to the point of enveloping each other in a nuclear fireball over land coveted by both.

The greatest menace to the area ended up coming from an ‘act of God’. Nooooo, though it’s an often overused tempting avenue of explanation and exploitation I’m not blaming the Lord. This has always been a seismically active region. What I am blaming is a human weakness for power, fear, hate and violence.

I know if there were perfect love with lions and sheep cohabiting all over the place these disasters still would have happened. But what could have been different was the way the world would have been able to react. Far too much effort is expended on military preparations, adventurism and economic violence around the world. In the United States our glowing example of this was when our response to hurricane Katrina was greatly hampered by the war in Iraq and once again the verdict is still out on how we handle the current tornado outbreaks.

If we spent a lot more time trying to understand each other rather than feeding our fear, power lust and greed we would all be more prepared to react to these repeated scenes of desperation. For all its faults the international communications within the United Nations is still the best avenue for keeping this hope alive. The conservatives within the US in their foolish arrogance would love to not only withdraw from this institution but would love to see it die.

The gluttonous arms industry, which fuels so many conflicts in the third world, also needs to be decimated and what little piece of it that is left must be highly regulated by strict international oversight. It’s true we can all do a lot better with how we react to each other in the world. It all depends on what we allow to dwell in our hearts.

God’s anger with our own United States and the other developed nations of the world must be great since He hears the cry of the poor and oppressed. We waste billions flooding the world with immoral misadventures. The wealthiest nations in the world could do much to alleviate suffering but instead we choose to use our military might and money to make the world safe for big business.

The neoconservative dominated Republican Party has infected us with a little dream centered on our own selfish desires while having the gall to claim we are the greatest Christian nation doing the work of God. Our irrational fear and popular culture driven wanton ignorance has caused half our populace to shamefully follow blindly behind.

We can do better if we really embrace the love God, whoever you vision Him/Her to be, wants us to have for each other. These natural disasters have illustrated just how inadequate our love for each other really is while highlighting our international failings.
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