Feb 23rd, 2021: Crisis of Leadership During a Winter Storm
Natural disasters do happen whether we believe in global warming or not. We are not in control of nature, and we have to prepare for the unexpected. What happened in Texas during the cold freeze last week reveals many needed lessons to us.
To be prepared is to make plans for different possibilities. To have a clear priority about the health and the well-being of people when a natural disaster takes place. We need to acknowledge that we are not in control, and we need to make room for what we don't know.
To be prepared is to consider the needs of the poor, the elderly, the sick, the physically challenged, and people with other disadvantages in life. A compassionate society is willing to go to bat for these people when they cannot do that for themselves.
To be prepared is to find ways to overcome the isolation in our existence. Why should a sick man get his oxygen tank by himself? Why didn't anyone check on the grandmother and her three grandchildren? Either our sense of isolation or our need for privacy might be the cause for this.
To be prepared is to have clear communication from the authority about what people have to face. Some counties stated that they did not execute their evacuation plans because the people in charge didn't tell them exactly how long the power was going to be out. Honestly, we live in a time when we can order our food before getting to the restaurant to pick it up, and there is no excuse for that to happen.
By the way, what does it tell you when a senator decided to take his children down to Mexico when his state suffered from one of the worst natural disasters? I can understand his love for his kids. What about using the opportunity to teach the kids about common decency and compassion. An example of caring leadership is missing here. Life is not about us all the time.
"And David shepherded them with the integrity of heart;
with skillful hands, he led them."—Psalm 78:72
