The Golden Rule and hard hearts

When the Congress was debating the bill to provide relief to victims of the Super Storm Sandy that hit the East Coast last year, Rep. Tom Cole from Moore, Oklahoma remarked that his state was only one tornado away from needing such federal relief itself. He voted for the bill with no strings attached.

Cole's words were prophetic and, unfortunately for Oklahomans, his prophecy came true in a big way yesterday with the massive tornado that hit his home town. Now, Oklahoma will need major help from the rest of the country to recover and rebuild. But that's what we are here for. After all, we here in Southeast Texas are only one major hurricane away from needing help ourselves.

Christians - true Christians - know it as the Golden Rule: Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. It's not a bad rule to live by, whether you are a Christian or not.

In the debate on Sandy relief in the Senate, neither of Oklahoma's senators followed that rule. In fact, quite the opposite. They railed against such federal aid. Sen. James Inhofe called it a "slush fund." Sen. Tom Coburn insisted that any relief that was provided had to be paid for by taking something away from somewhere else in the budget. They both voted against giving the aid to their suffering fellow Americans.

Now, the shoe is on the other foot, so to speak. President Obama (who is also president of Oklahoma even if it didn't vote for him) has already declared Oklahoma a disaster area, making it eligible for federal assistance and has assured Oklahomans that they will have all the resources they need at their disposal. What has been the response of Oklahoma's two hard-hearted senators?

Well, I suppose we have to give Coburn the prize for consistency. He is insisting that any help given to Oklahoma has to be taken away from somebody else. Close down those Head Start Centers. Cut the number of Meals on Wheels recipients. Take some of the funds that haven't yet been spent on Sandy relief and give it to Oklahoma. Coburn is very proud of his consistency. One might say his consistent cruelty.

Inhofe, on the other hand, is a full-blown hypocrite which doesn't surprise me at all. He now claims that victims of disaster in his state are very different from victims of disaster in the East. Sandy aid, he says, "was totally different. They were getting things - for instance that was supposed to be in New Jersey, they had things in the Virgin Islands, they were fixing roads there, they were putting roofs on houses in Washington D.C., everyone was getting in and exploiting the tragedy taking place. That won't happen in Oklahoma." Because, I guess, Oklahoma is just so much more virtuous and deserving.

What he fails to mention, of course, is that Sandy did not only damage New Jersey. It also damaged the Virgin Islands and Washington and places all along the coast. They all needed help to recover. Most Americans did not begrudge them that help any more than we now begrudge Oklahoma help.

The federal deficit has shrunk dramatically since Obama has been president and it continues to shrink faster than at any time since just after World War II, but Republicans like Coburn and Inhofe refuse to acknowledge that and continue to insist on pinching pennies - at least as long as it hurts someone else besides themselves and their friends. God forbid one of their flights should be delayed!

No, Senators, we can afford to be generous to our suffering neighbors. The money's there. In fact, we can't afford not to be generous, because there but for one giant storm are we.

And besides, it is what Jesus would demand of us. You remember Jesus, don't you? That Golden Rule guy?

Poetry Sunday: Don't Hesitate by Mary Oliver

How about we share another Mary Oliver poem? After all, you can never have too many of those. In this one, the poet seems to acknowledge that it is often hard to simply live in and enjoy the moment, perhaps because we are afraid it can't last. She urges us to give in to that moment and fully experience the joy. Although "much can never be redeemed, still, life has some possibility left." Don't Hesitate by Mary Oliver If you suddenly and unexpectedly feel joy, don’t hesitate. Give in to it. There are plenty of lives and whole towns destroyed or about to be. We are not wise, and not very often kind. And much can never be redeemed. Still, life has some possibility left. Perhaps this is its way of fighting back, that sometimes something happens better than all the riches or power in the world. It could be anything, but very likely you notice it in the instant when love begins. Anyway, that’s often the case. Anyway, whatever it is, don’t be afraid of its plenty. Joy is no...

Poetry Sunday: Blackberry-Picking by Seamus Heaney

My mother was a farm wife and a prodigious canner. She canned fruit and vegetables from the garden, even occasionally meat. But the best thing that she canned, in my opinion, was blackberry jam. Even as I type those words my mouth waters! Of course, before she could make that jam, somebody had to pick the blackberries. And that somebody was quite often named Dorothy. I think Seamus Heaney might have spent some time among the briars plucking those delicious black fruits as well, so he would have known that "Once off the bush the fruit fermented, the sweet flesh would turn sour." They don't keep; you have to get that jam made in a hurry! Blackberry-Picking by Seamus Heaney Late August, given heavy rain and sun For a full week, the blackberries would ripen. At first, just one, a glossy purple clot Among others, red, green, hard as a knot. You ate that first one and its flesh was sweet Like thickened wine: summer's blood was in it Leaving stains upon the tongue and lust ...

Poetry Sunday: Hymn for the Hurting by Amanda Gorman

You probably remember poet Amanda Gorman from her appearance at the inauguration of President Biden. She read her poem "The Hill We Climb" on that occasion. After the senseless slaughter in Uvalde this week, she was inspired to write another poem which was published in The New York Times. It seemed perfect for the occasion and so I stole it in order to feature it here, just in case you didn't get a chance to read it in the Times . Hymn for the Hurting by Amanda Gorman Everything hurts, Our hearts shadowed and strange, Minds made muddied and mute. We carry tragedy, terrifying and true. And yet none of it is new; We knew it as home, As horror, As heritage. Even our children Cannot be children, Cannot be. Everything hurts. It’s a hard time to be alive, And even harder to stay that way. We’re burdened to live out these days, While at the same time, blessed to outlive them. This alarm is how we know We must be altered — That we must differ or die, That we must triumph or try. ...

The Nature of Things

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