A Prayer For Our Brothers And Sisters In Sandy’s Path

I’m not a praying man. As a Buddhist, I don’t believe in a “man upstairs” who grants wishes if you’ve been a good boy or girl. But as a Buddhist, I strive to have compassion for all living creatures, and generally humans top the list because they are more needy of empathy that other, more advanced, creatures.

When I find myself in a position where I know tens-of-millions of people will face hardship, material loss, and some even death, my heart goes out to them. Of course it will be difficult for our brothers and sisters along the Atlantic coast. It will also be difficult for the rest of the country, who like me, must sit and watch and pray, without being able to lend a helping hand until after the damage is done.

It is times like these that I’m thankful for organizations like the American Red Cross and FEMA, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, who jumped in to help prepare people for the storm, who will perhaps rescue people if need be, and who will rebuild communities and help people get back on their feet. Hopefully FEMA is better organized under Obama than they were during hurricane Katrina under the GWB administration.

I didn’t want to make this a political blog, but I will point out that Mitt Romney has stated that, if elected President, he will dissolve FEMA. It’s all part of the GOP’s Fuck-You-Needy-People attitude.

Oops, there, I’ve gone and done it. I’ve made this political. My bad.