Even Good News Depressing

I was watching The News Hour last night and Gwen Ifull did a story about a family who lost a son in the Twin Towers 6 years ago. The family decided to do something positive in the world with the 1.4 million dollars they received from the governement for their son's life.

They had heard that in most of the world there is no mental health care for people suffering from trauma brought on by violence. They decided to set up a foundation with the money to get mental health care professionals to people who need them.

I have the utmost respect for Elizabeth and Stephen Alderman, the parents of Stephen Alderman the young man who died. And this is a fanatasitc story. So why am I depressed?

Jump

In the lead up to the interview with the Aldermans, Ifull says:

The Aldermans sent (sic) out to provide mental health care for the approximately one billion people all over the world who have experienced torture, terrorism or mass violence.

1,000,000,000 people have expereinced torture, terrorism or mass violence!!

http://www.pbs.org/...

Is this how far we have come as a species?? It is enough to make one an athiest. No wonder Sister Theresa doubted the existance of god for most of her adult life.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/...

It is good to know that god does exist. At least for Senator Vitter.

"Several years ago, I asked for and received forgiveness from God and my wife in confession and marriage counseling,"

http://www.washingtonpost.com/...

•  It is depressing

  and here's another reason why, besides the reason you mention--the fact that so many have suffered from trauma brought on by violence.

  I'm sorry for the bereavement of the Aldermans and everybody else who lost family members and friends during 9/11. But having read the fact that the Aldermans received $1.4 million for their son's life from the federal government, (and assuming that others who lost folks to 9/11 have been similarly compensated) I could not help but think of people in New Orleans who'd lost children, parents, and spouses to the flooding brought on by the failure of her levees. And it not only saddened me, but made my blood boil.

  Reason being, in spite of the fact that it was the federal government's responsibility to maintain the levees, no survivor of anybody who perished in this flooding is going to receive any compensation. Instead, the Bush Administration has abdicated the federal government's responsibility to these bereaved people by saying it had been the responsibility of Louisiana and New Orleans to keep the levees maintained.

  This is how the administration has spun this disaster. It has in effect washed its hands of flood survivors in an appalling display of callousness. This country needs to treat survivors of New Orleans' flooding with the same amount of sympathy, respect, attention, and most importantly, compensation and aid as the survivors of 9/11 have received.

  by Louisiana 1976 on Wed Sep 12, 2007 at 09:37:20 AM PDT