Reasons to hope.

While I drafted this post, I looked over the news of the rising Mississippi River.  The people of Missouri seem to have fared well, with only a small degree of damage and inconvenience.  In Louisiana the authorities are watching the river with concern.  In Alabama heavy rainfall has caused very significant loss and damage.  This excess of water has the power to visit more death and destruction on more people in more parts of the United States than ISIS could ever dream.


What's deeply encouraging is the willingness of people to help.  In one of the classier moves of recent time, American Airlines donated $100,000.00 to the Red Cross to support tornado relief in Texas.  That company has also encouraged donations from its customers - the webpage, if you're interested, is here:

Image from here

Pope Francis' call for an end to indifference may be falling on a world where many have already reached the same conclusion.  This is a remarkable basis for hope.  There may be risks to the public wellbeing from any number of quarters (Electromagnetic pulse, anyone?  Or earthquakes?).  Even so, there are more reasons than ever to think that people will respond in the finest of ways.