Haiti: A Eulogy

There's a bit of buzz on Twitter about the media "over-covering" and people "under-helping" the Haiti situation.

Certainly it's accurate of the situation. Getting a cameraman and talking head into a crumbled city is far easier than moving as many crates as a C-130 could carry.

The media is often criticized for having more Michael Jackson coverage than one could handle. Truth of the matter is, it's a 'developing story'. You get to see the 'guts' of it (no pun intended) as it unfolds. Rumors, dead-air, bad satellite, redundant information all come with that 'real-time' (a phrase bound to not need quotes soon) story-telling.

Angst toward the media is easy. Struggling with the idea of the horrors of the situation is more complex and far-reaching.

Social media is on this like a blanket. I first saw the buzz of the Hudson River plane landing on Twitter and the whole story unfold (again) real-time before CNN.com had even upped the story. Seeing the facts and buzz told me that when a big situation goes down; that media social and otherwise, would be on it like flies on a corpse.

Destroyed harbors, buckled and broken roads, hemorrhaged runways lead me to think that the Haitian shallow-breathing buried under a slab of shattered concrete has already found his tomb.

The tragedy is spreading far and wide and the world is watching this already deformed country squeak out it's last whinny. When I see 98% of CNN.com stories about Haiti, you can be sure I am reaching in my wallet. I am sure many feel the same way: helpless.

The media, as a whole, is the hero. When I first heard Anderson Cooper was headed there, to me it felt like when I first saw Superman fly up the Daily Planet to save Lois in the helicopter. It was bringing to light these stories that are going to mostly have a sad ending. From a group of people that led crippled lives by our standards, but were so "Eden-eyed" that they didn't know the extent of their own suffering.

If there is any truth to the idea that God has put us here to suffer and learn, the Haitians who have endured their entire lives in poverty and have been tormented their last few hours will be the ones we that will shine so bright in Heaven we won't be able to look upon them.


EDIT: Here's an interesting OpEd about parallels and differences between Katrina and the Haiti disaster.