A Little Help, Please?

Gun’s Quote-of-the-Week:

“Well, Mr. Saavik, are you going to stay with the sinking ship?” -Admiral Kirk

“Permission to speak candidly, sir.” -Lieutenant Saavik

“…Granted…” -Kirk

“I don’t believe this was a fair test of my command abilities.” – Saavik

“And why not?” -Kirk

“Because, there was no way to win.” – Saavik

“A no win situation is a possibility every commander may face, has that never occurred to you?” -Kirk

“…No sir, it has not.” -Saavik

-Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan

My life’s going great. Honestly, it is. I have a good job, good friends, good family… My needs are taken care of and I really have about all of the material wants that I want. I’m healthy, I drive a nice car and live in a nice house in a nice town. I’m spared most of the horrors of the world, including, but not limited to, chronic disease, war, hunger, poor sanitation, oppressive governments and illiteracy.

Yet, I feel powerless. I feel like I’m in a no-win scenario, where no matter what I do or what actions I take, I lose.

You see, right now I have a lot of close friends and family suffering. For one friend and some family members, it is extended unemployment. Being let go is one of the most humiliating things a person can go through. If that isn’t enough, being consistently told “No” interview after interview compounds on the feelings of inadequacy and unworthiness. Then you start to run out of money. That makes one wonder if they are going to lose their car, their house, their entire way of life.

I have colleagues who are suffering with drug addiction. No matter how much you try to mentor, reach out, offer encouragement or accountability, they keep denying that they have a problem. You slowly watch them kill themselves, as at first their bodies give way, then their ability to function and then losing their job because they cannot work any longer because their addiction engulfs their life. Then they can’t pay for drugs, so they turn to crime, jail, criminal records and the like.

I have friends who care so much about the people they serve but get paid next to nothing and are dealing with being disrespected and disregarded right now. These are some of the wisest, loving teachers I know, but to the ungrateful students they serve, they are just one more annoying talking head that can be dismissed by the glow of a cell phone screen.

I have a church coming to grips with the reality that some of its most trusted leaders have been violating children and seminarians for a long time. Then there were others who covered for them. Some of my friends are priests. They are being labeled “child molester,” “faggot,” “freak” or any other of a myriad of unfair and unjust labels. These are men who have dedicated their lives to serving their fellow man, only to be piled in to a group of heretics that have committed some of the most gross and grievous of crimes. The church that I am trying to serve, the God I am trying to proclaim is being muted by men who never should have been allowed to roam the streets, let alone wear a collar.

Then there is the church that is unsustainably in debt, wondering how they are going to pay the bills and dealing with buildings in a near-dangerous state of disrepair.

No matter how great my life is going right now, I can’t help them. I can’t make people hire my out-of-work family and friends. I don’t have the money to support those who love students who don’t love them back. I can’t make students love their teachers. I know enough about drug addiction to know that the odds are better that my colleague will be dead before 30 before he turns to find help. 

As far as the predator priests that have irreversibly harmed the most innocent of children? Beyond adding my voice on social media to the millions of others who are just as mad as hell as I am, I don’t know what to do about that, either.

Kind words and encouragement seem to be the only thing I can offer to those who need so much more. Those are inadequate.

I guess my point in all of this is that there are real people in the world around us with real problems. They need help. So, if you are in a position to help them, do it. If you a parent and are told by your son or daughter’s teacher that they are a disruption in class, discipline your child. If you are a victim of sexual abuse, come forward and tell the authorities what happened so that it doesn’t happen to somebody else and these low-lives can be thrown in jail. If you have money to give, give it to somebody who really needs it.

This week, please, pull your head out of your self-centered ass and wake up to the reality that there are those around you who need YOU.

Maybe, just maybe, if we have a few more people who can give, we can actually start to make a dent in the very real and very tragic problems that those around us face.

...and that’s why it’s a Gun’s Quote!!