Broken

I’m thinking of going off t.v. completely.

Every time I turn it on lately I’m accosted with another heartbreaking story. Tonight 60 minutes did a special on homelessness in the U.S., specifically the number of children who are homeless living in motels, shelters and cars.

It breaks my heart, just cracks it in two. I hate how messed up the world is and it makes me angry.

Then later tonight we were watching ESPN and it covered the sexual abuse allegations against Coach Fine (not to mention how everything is still stirred up about Coach Sandusky). Again, my stomach is churning.

It’s hard to look at your own child, to marvel at their beauty and feel honored to share your life with them… it’s hard to look at your own child and realize there are other children who are just as beautiful, just as marvelous, and they are being smudged all over by circumstances they cannot control.

It makes me sick.

I’m struggling to find the humorous, uplifting stream of thought running through our everyday existence tonight. I can’t help but feel like I’m living in a crumbling world.

A good friend has this quote on her blog (I think it’s from an anonymous source):

“It is easy to look to God and ask, “Why is there so much poverty in the world? Why is there so much hurt, so much inequality and unfairness, so much destitution?” I bet He would ask us the same thing.”

I don’t have an answer to this hurt, but I will continue to make the choices I can to impact the world for the better. Starting with the simple (sometimes exasperating!) choice to cherish my own little ones.

I’d also like to call attention to the Orange Movement, a group dedicated to stopping human trafficking and social injustice in our communities (it was founded at the university I used to work). If you can get involved, please do.

The Orange Movement got its name from Rev. Orange Scott, a man with brilliant ideas and a terrible first name. (You know that kid got smacked around on the playground during the 1800s with a name like “Orange.”)

Here’s what Orange said:

“I felt it my duty to call the attention of my countrymen to the wrongs and outrages suffered by the wretched slaves of our land, to which I had been so long indifferent and a stranger; that by having a torch light presented to the slumbering national mind, it would be roused to see the evil and defilement of the land, and throw off this great abomination.”

If you can cut through the oddly written language of 200 years ago you’ll see that Orange spoke against injustice. He was willing to take the risk to write and shout the words that shed light on the disease of depravity.

I can’t think of a better philosophy to cling to after watching t.v. for a short length of time.

What do you think about all of this?