So Much Trouble in the World

Okay, so this is almost exclusively a light-hearted family blog that is used to update friends and family on the relatively mundane lives we lead. But today I'll venture in a new direction, if only for one post. Those who know me well know that I have lots of opinions--even some strong ones--but these days there is neither the forum nor the reason to spew them all that much.

Well, indulge me a bit today. Many of you may have seen this very sad story on CNN's website this morning. It talks about Youssif, a 5-year-old boy that was randomly attacked and burned by some masked thugs in Baghdad. Now, I could rant about CNN's absolutely shameful anti-war agenda if I wanted. I could complain about how biased CNN's coverage of the war in Iraq has been. I could point out that nowhere in the article was there even a thought of how concerned people might be able to reach out and help this poor boy and his family. In fact, only after an uproar in the comments to the article about wanting to find a way to help did CNN even take any steps to put something in place that might get Youssif some help. I think it's absolutely shameless that they would write such an article that mentions how the family has no way to get additional help, and then not provide an avenue for that help. It's because they don't want to write stories about the good things Americans do for the people in Iraq--only about how broken the country is, as if it is our fault. How people think the 'stability' of a ruthless despot is preferable to a chance at freedom blows my mind. For Youssif, it took average concerned Americans wanting to organize themselves spontaneously for something to happen. But remember, liberals keep telling us that Americans are ignorant and selfish and out of touch with the world, so I guess we will all just wring our hands at poor Youssif and wish George Bush hadn't made these men do what they did. What a joke.

Well, I could rant about all of that (and I think that I probably just did), but let's put all of the hollow mantras of the left and the hypocrisy of CNN aside for a moment.

What struck me the most was the raw human emotion in this article. I have to admit that I even got pretty emotional reading the article and pondering the implications. I was skyping Liz this morning right after I read it and sent her the link. Her response floored me again. "Joey says he will be his friend." Apparently Joey walked in while Liz was reading the article and saw the pictures and wanted to know what happened. Liz explained that the boy got burned and that he was sad now because other kids wouldn't play with him because he looked like that. Joey's response was "I would still play with him."

I'm not sure what makes me so emotional about all of this. I guess it's a combination of many things--the horror that Youssif must have gone through, a world where terrible things happen to innocent people, the rueful self-torture that his mother is putting herself through--thinking that somehow she could have stopped such a senseless and random act, the 'before' picture that shows a vibrant 5-year-old, the grand hopes and dreams of a little boy who lives in such a scary and dangerous environment, the description of how his demeanor has changed 180 degrees from the boy he once was, the realization that such a young child has to deal with such serious questions about mortality and the world around him, the passion on the boards from concerned people and their collective rebuke of CNN and its approach to the story, the fact that I have my own 5-year-old who will take another step into the world as he starts school on Monday, my loving 3-year-old and his precious desire to be a good person, how ridiculously blessed we are as a family--I dont' know; I guess it is all of those things.

So excuse my post today. Perhaps I'm being selfish by indulging myself and searching for a cathartic way to process it all. I promise we will return again to the trite stories about the kids and what they say. In the meantime, say a prayer for Youssif and his family.

The end.