Katrina's "God"

Katrina's "God"

The devastation is staggering. Major American cities are in ruin, under water, unknown number of dead, and unreachable many in remote places, provide a stark picture of the power of nature in its full vigor over humanity's toy like "civilization". With American world reputable might in constant display throughout its military operations or economic muscles, seeing the hapless poor, mostly African Americans or Latino or other immigrant communities, wading through chest deep water in the midst of total chaos, rampant looting from abandoned stores, submerged or smashed new model cars gutted on the flooded street, one cannot avoid pondering if this remains the pitiful reality of a lone superpower, then, all the other nations of our world -- poor, poverty stricken -- what could have been their "reality" in the face of nature's "without prejudice" steam rolling?

"Have God on your side", uttered a New Orleans resident just before Katrina ripped through Gulf coast, sitting beside her puppy dog while fleeing the city in her old modeled rusty car. The Church priests or Mosque Imams could blather "God's" unbounded mercy in sparing millions of innocent people from the wrath of Katrina, they may say that "God was on their side". Huh! Why "God" has to take side on the matter of saving innocent lives? Doesn't "God" have unbounded mercy to bestow to "His" poor children on earth? If "God" does take side, why exalting "Her" as the most "compassionate" when compassion was not present in drowning deaths of unknown many of New Orleans residents, or perhaps if our memory hasn't forsaken us, what had the crimes of those poor children and adults in last year's catastrophic tsunami in South Asia? "God" has so much mercy, it is not only through water or storm, through fire "It" shows its unbounded "mercy", 17 African immigrants burned to death, 6 of them innocent children, in France's poor community.

"You blasphemous soul! God has nothing to do with these!"-- you or other good natured, "God" fearing folks may utter these sharp replies with complete disgust. You may roll your furious eyes, even pointing fingers at me while shaking head from left to right to left, absolving "God" from all responsibilities. It is all our faults! "Men are fallen from grace!" You may shove oldie goldie scriptures, "God's" direct commandments, to nullify unpalatable thoughts. "Don't question God's wisdom", maybe the "wise" amongst ourselves squeaks in their rebuttals, but in the end, the truth remains the same. Katrina's "God" seemed to be overpowering in its ferocity comparing to the benevolent "God's" omnipotent benevolence.

"God" or "no God", the evidences aplenty, human beings and other animate and inanimate beings are their own in facing bleak extinction. "God" supposedly does not face extinction. Does "He" know the feelings of vulnerability? Katrina's "God" shatters and mangles, but what may a "loving" "God"'s response be?

Is there complete uncaring silence in immeasurable cosmos?

I don't suppose "God" surfs Internet, well perhaps the elite sites, not the discussion forums anyway. But again the question remains, why differentiating between elite and non-elite sites? Isn't "God" supposed to be full of goodies, enshrined with blinding equality? If not, is "God" prejudiced? Are these too "immature" to ask? What is maturity then? Being subservient to established ideologies? No untraditional questions asked?

Like Pink Floyd asked in its music of "Wall" years ago, one may ask, "Is there anybody out there?" Let's hope for humanity's sake, that there is no Katrina's "God" out there to the least.

Regards,
Sohel