In this time of human made disasters, bombings, murders, wars, destruction of environment, neglect of poor and common good where do we turn and what do we do? There is so many causes and issues worth fighting for quite often we just end up going from one to another in the news; one to another petition or talk, yet not doing much. We are divided and thus kept in control.

What do we do in a time of human made disasters when the word ‘justice’ comes to mean revenge and punishment of the wrong doing? Whatever happened to ‘justice’ of the Gospel, social justice or mercy and justice?

I heard some social scientist say on public radio that the twentieth century was not the most violent one. I need to check his research but find it hard to believe with so many major wars, so much street violence, the holocaust and Nagasaki and Hiroshima. Although we say we will not let terrorist make us fear we increase our security and fear ordinary things, like going to school or a concert.

Not many seem to be interested in the causes of this disasters and violence in our times. In the great hurricane in New Orleans I read somewhere how so much damage was done because of human mistakes. The same probably goes for many disasters like the major explosion last night in West, TX. I have some friends who live about 10 miles from the explosion and was glad to hear they are okay.
Military veterans and news people compare the disaster in Boston and Texas to war zones. The war we so easily oppose on other people perhaps is coming home, not as great but still a disaster of the body, mind and soul.

People praise modern day persons like Martin Luther King, Gandhi and Dorothy Day but ignore their message of nonviolent love just as they did Jesus’ message at his time. As Peter Maurin, co-founder of the Catholic Worker movement said in one of his easy essays: “To blow the dynamite of a message is the only way to make the message dynamic.”

Yes as the poet said “Man was Made to Make Mistakes” but we also made learn from our mistakes. Maybe if we humans did a little less doing and more deeply looking at human made disasters we could learn from them and not repeat them over and over again.

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