Wednesday, April 17, 2019

Mr. Rogers Had It Right


I rarely bring up current events here. My work is meant to help people escape from whatever they need to escape from and current events are often that. But something momentous happened this week that I’d like to address.

from Wikipedia
Everyone reading this has probably heard the saying from Mr. Rogers, either first hand or reported later: “Look for the helpers.” That was his mother’s advice to him when he heard scary news.



On Monday, we all watched as Notre Dame burned, the spire fell, we all worried about the priceless treasures inside, whether we had ever been there to see them, planned to go someday, or just knew they were there.

from Vox article


The French firefighters, of course, were the heroes of the day, saving most of the structure and the artwork. The French people were a close second, singing Ave Maria as theywatched from below. The rest of the world suffered with them and, as soon as most of the danger was over, even before that, vowed to help rebuild the magnificent French national symbol.


Did you know that a sacred mosque also caught fire the same day? The flames were quickly put out and no real damage was done. This quote that came from the same day is from a Newsweek article on it:

The Palestine News Agency reported that Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' office "expressed its deep regret Monday over the fire that broke out at the historic Notre Dame Cathedral in the center of the French capital of Paris, which caused the collapse of the cathedral tower."

"The Presidency confirmed its solidarity and sympathy with our friends in France over this incident," the outlet added.

Dome of the Rock from Wikipedia


More good helpers.

Notre Dame will be rebuilt and will probably be just as grand and awe inspiring as it ever was. Here’s another thing. There are a few other churches that recently burned that need a lot of help. The Notre Dame fire actually sparked (pun intended) a spike in donations to help the three Louisiana churches that were totally destroyed by a hateful lunatic. In fact, millions of euros have been donated overnight!
William Widmer New York Times


The helpers are always there. Most people are good at heart and try to do the right thing whenever they can. We don’t hear about them because they don’t make good spectacular splashy headlines. But they’re always there. And they far outnumber people who would burn down churches because of the color of the skin of the worshippers.