Haiti: A Mirror for Our Souls

Recent comments from Rush Limbaugh and Pat Robertson prove two things: One, ignorance and callousness is alive in America, and two, the equally vitriolic response from liberals to censor these men is myopic and off-target. I won’t delve into First Amendment rights; that corollary seems obvious, because we live in a democracy that guarantees this right, no matter how odious its examples may be. The more important issue is the deeper psychological reality of Haiti and the Haitian people. Long beset by violence and corruption, both from within and without, Haiti is a mirror of our collective dark side. Much like Katrina and its devastation upon New Orleans, the earthquake in Haiti serves as a stark reminder of the lack of prosperity for certain peoples. The reason the earthquake caused such tragedy in Haiti (and correspondingly, Katrina, in New Orleans) is precisely because of the poverty in Haiti, and its resultant lack of infrastructure and human and material resources to handle a natural disaster of such proportion and magnitude. We have sat by and watched the past few decades as Haiti has devolved into lawlessness and a squalor that is unacceptable. Our response has been misguided and intermittent, resulting in little, if any positive, sustainable change. We can no longer just send tax dollars their way, because these monies flow down a drain of corruption and never reach the intended people at the bottom of the economic ladder. We have, however, an unprecedented opportunity, to rebuild Haiti and enable this nation to find a purchase in the 21st century. The antidote, in the long run, is to help them create an economic infrastructure based on their resources. We should re-allocate existing monies in the form of low or no-interest loans, both micro and macro, to budding Haitian entrepreneurs, who are starved for capital. Our business sector can also help out by making future investments in the people of Haiti. This is a win-win situation for Americans, because an economically viable Haiti is more likely to become a free and prosperous Haiti, making them not only feasible trading partner to bolster our own economy, but also ensuring that future Haitians work toward independence and self sustenance rather than the degradation and associated vices. Yes, Limbaugh and Robertson are insensitive, if not potentially cruel blowhards, but ironically, they not only help call attention to and define this catastrophe, but point out our hypocrisy of our failure to use the engine of capitalism to provide the Haitian people with a brighter future.