Where’s The Crisis
This morning’s radio news contained the word, crisis, several times. In referring to the economy the announcer said that there’s only one solution. He then played a one word sound bite from the President’s speech last night which was, “Government.” Yeah. Right. So I had to look up the definition of crisis and here’s how Merriam Webster Online defines it:
1 a: the turning point for better or worse in an acute disease or fever b: a paroxysmal attack of pain, distress, or disordered function c: an emotionally significant event or radical change of status in a person’s life (a midlife crisis) 2: the decisive moment (as in a literary plot) 3 a: an unstable or crucial time or state of affairs in which a decisive change is impending ; especially : one with the distinct possibility of a highly undesirable outcome (a financial crisis) b: a situation that has reached a critical phase (the environmental crisis)
I’ve been thinking lately that this has got to be the most overused word in the media and by politicians today. Think of: economic crisis, moral crisis, dietary crisis, world crisis, water crisis, food crisis, gas crisis, etc., etc. ad nauseum. Do you feel pity for these people or do you feel like you’re in crisis mode too?
I don’t. I’m wondering if there is a crisis or if perhaps there are a whole lot of people who don’t have faith or are just trying to make us afraid so we make snap decisions without thinking through them. I don’t suggest that there are problems in our economy but there are always fluctuations in business just like the weather. Instead of quaking in fear, a little prayer and quiet meditation about what to do next can really help in a situation like we’re in.
The Communion Antiphon at this morning’s Mass was especially appropriate I thought. Matthew 19: 28-29 RSV.
“Truly, I say to you . . . And every one who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or lands, for my sake, will receive a hundredfold, and inherit eternal life.”
So what is there to worry about? Why rush to make decisions that will have momentous consequences now and for generations to come?