Published: June 21, 2008 09:02 pm            

TRIBUNE-STAR EDITORIAL: Rising from the mush of disaster

We can take care of each other by looking first at home

It is difficult to look at the depressed economy, $4-plus gasoline prices and the devastation caused by this month’s floods and find anything about which we can feel good.

Then again, isn’t a lot of grown-up life all about surviving the storm clouds of crisis and loss and making ourselves search for a silver lining? Two glimmers have caught our eye. One involves what has happened, the other what could.

The wonderful thing that already is occurring is a kind of religious United Nations that’s come to the rescue and relief of thousands of flood victims in the Wabash Valley. Instead of jockeying for position nearest heaven’s gate or claiming to be the most authentic representatives of Christianity, people of many faiths and denominations simply have rolled up their sleeves and gotten to work helping their neighbors.

Or helping strangers. Trucks carrying everything from diapers to disinfectants have rolled into the flood zones from churches and religious organizations hundreds of miles away. On the ground, Southern Baptists have joined Mormons who’ve joined Roman Catholics who’ve joined Methodists who’ve joined Pentecostals in collecting, donating and handing out relief supplies, temporary lodging and monetary vouchers.

Help has come from generous souls of other faiths — and no faiths — as well, which just goes to show that you don’t have to be Christian to hold and practice Christian values.

Wouldn’t it be wonderful if we got along like this all the time, pulled in the same direction more than not, and recognized our common human decency in one another instead of fixating on the differences? What a transcending legacy of the June 2008 floods that would be.

As for the potential positive byproduct of flood losses, expensive gas and an already-sour economy, think of Dorothy’s epiphany in “The Wizard of Oz.” There’s no place like home.

Rather than plunge deep(er) into debt to fly or drive a long way for a vacation or shopping excursion, why not think “local” — or at least “nearby”? Like New Orleans after the devastation of Katrina, many flood-damaged Indiana and Illinois communities will need visitors, shoppers, diners and all-around consumers now more than ever.

Nothing against Plainfield, but is a 120-mile round-trip to its Target or sprawling metropolis really the best use of Valley residents’ precious gas, time and discretionary income just now? Our local merchants and restaurateurs needed us before flood waters further muddied the area economy. Now they really need us. So do cities and towns around us that were hit even harder than we were.

Take Bloomfield, for example. The storms of early June virtually shut down the little city southeast of here and caused extensive damage. How good for Bloomfield would it be if people from neighboring communities made a point of driving there to have lunch or dinner and take in one of six shows scheduled for the Shawnee Theatre’s summer season?

No, it’s not Chicago or New York, but it’s also not two tanks of gas, a $250 airline ticket (if you’re lucky) or a hotel room that costs as much as some people’s monthly rent. Indiana and Illinois are teeming with similar worthy and accessible entertainment venues, all within a few gallons’ drive.

The next several months are sure to be tough ones for almost all but the very affluent among us. The kind of community effort that has been so impressive these past few weeks will continue to be needed. Consciously looking for creative (and inexpensive) ways to meet those needs can be a win-win for all concerned, especially when we remember that fine adage: Charity begins at home.

        

• Click to discuss this story with other readers on our forums.