I'm completely ripping off this story from a fellow blogger. I thought about just cutting and pasting the link, but I know that I never follow those links when people post them, and this would be something worth the read. The link is at the end of the post for those interested.
Robert on Hearts and Minds and Hezbollah
(Mike's Note: Our friend Robert was in Montreal last week to see family, and came home with this story...)
My aunt has a friend with a house in Lebanon and she spoke to her last week. Her friend has been there all summer and her house is in the mountains which is apparently pretty safe, compared to Beirut anyway. The day after the bombing started a month ago, this lady finds dozens, hundreds of people walking past her house in the mountains. These people are not poor but they have escaped the shelling in Beirut with literally the clothes on their backs and not much else. There are an estimated 800,000 of these folks and my aunt's friend tells her that people were coming to her door, asking for water, food, blankets. She said she offered what assistance she could but there were so many people, the situation was bad and getting worse.
The next day, the cavalry came to the rescue. Who arrived with supplies, water, food, blankets? Hezbollah. Think of it, within 24 hours, Hezbollah had the organization on the ground to deliver these supplies to these desperate people.
Hezbollah. 24 hours.
Imagine for a moment you are an average Lebanese person. Through no fault of your own, your city is being bombed to hell and you escape on foot to the mountains. It's chaos for the first 24 hours but then help arrives. Help for you, for your wife, your kids, your parents.
I've watched the situation in the Middle East and like most people here, every once in a while I wonder what on earth these people can be thinking to make the choices they make. What could possess large numbers of people to associate themselves with these terrorists killing machines? Water for their kids in a crisis, that's what. That's why Hamas was elected in the territories, Hezbollah has seats in the Lebanese Parliament and Al Sadr would probably win an election if he ran in Iraq.
Hezbollah was there in 24 hours. With those kind of results, they'd get a few votes in New Orleans.
I am not defending Hezbollah. I know they are terrorists and Israel was minding its own business when it was attacked. Guess what, if you believe we are involved in a battle between the forces of Good and Evil, don't you think Good should get a better PR department? Why wouldn't Israel spend 10% of what it is spending on weapons, bombs, jet fuel, etc. on blankets, kosher meals and the like?
If anyone thinks we can shoot our way out of this global mess, think again.
Hearts and minds, people, Hearts and Minds. That's the only hope.
(Come to think of it, maybe a little Hands and Feet would be helpful in that regard but what do I know, I'm just the resident atheist.)
http://miketodd.typepad.com/waving_or_drowning/2006/08/robert_on_heart.html
posted by Kelly @ 8:59:00 AM
2 Comments:
powerful words here.. thanks for sharing them.
"...Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?' The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.'"
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