Outreach to Haiti good sign in troubled times

By Staff
Jonathan Willis
Publisher
Natural disasters and acts of terrorism are never good things, but occasionally they bring out the best in people.
Following the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001 and the devastation of Hurricane Katrina along the Gulf Coast, Americans from across the nation mobilized to help their fellow citizens cope with the stress and clean up of these events.
Earlier this week Americans showed they care about the rest of the world too. A massive earthquake rocked the island nation of Haiti and demolished many of the buildings in the poverty-stricken country.
Many Americans offered to travel to the island to help while others offered financial assistance. Several of those people reside here in Franklin County.
Times are tough here in Alabama as residents are still feeling the effects of the recession that Washington says is coming to an end, while people in this state are dealing with a 10.3 percent unemployment rate.
But as bad as the economy might be, people are still finding ways to help those who are in much worse shape.
In a world of pessimism and cynicism it is good to see so many people coming together for a good cause.
It is a shame, however, that it takes a disaster to get people in such a helping mood.