Unveiling the Light

Sometimes you wonder how things can go so wrong but recently we had a blaring example of how sometimes, things can go our way. I am speaking here about the defeat of Hugo Chavez’s agenda to claim the right to power for life and a variety of other social reforms he tried to push through. It seems that Hugo has pushed even his own people too far. It is nice when, for once, someone receives a well deserved Bronx cheer. This arrogant little man thought he had the world wrapped around his finger tips and for the most part it has bent to his demands. How nice it is that those closest to him were the first to declare that the emperor has no clothes.

It is one of those times when I can be proud of my own Church and other Christians who stood up to and continue to challenge this man’s ego driven drive for power. It seems also that those he thought most enamored with his style have turned against him as even left leaning students now see the danger this man is to his country, the region and to the world. As I said, sometimes things go right. Unfortunately Russia’s Putin has caused Democracy to take a turn for the worse in Russia but at least that tiger has had much of its bite removed.

Perhaps we should look around at other things that have gone our way. Iraq continues to be a problem but it has certainly turned around from being a lost cause to one that we may actually be on the way to resolving. Our economy continues to absorb body blows, be they terrorist attacks or the housing crisis, but continues to grow steadily and has an ability to create jobs that is the envy of the world. Oil prices seem to be catching up with reality and have topped out. Maybe now we see the reality of our continuing dependence on oil for the near and much of the long term. Even with conservation a growing economy will call for large oil supplies.

While we are on the subject of energy; it is not, “just conservation stupid” but exploration for oil and probably the development of nuclear power as well. Everyone is drilling for oil and establishing the means of power supply, except the United States which has grown to have a full 60% of its needs imported. We won’t drill off our shores, but other countries will drill just outside our territory. What is being helped by our forgoing this opportunity so others can take it up? For a country that worries so much about world stability, we sure do put ourselves out on a limb to depend on the most instable nations to keep our economy going.

By the way, after the initial hoopla, have you noticed the lack of information about the oil spill off San Francisco? As in most cases, these things cause everyone to run in circles for awhile proclaiming the end of all things as we know them, but with a little patience we usually find that the damage is far more limited and temporary than feared. When we had the tanker spill oil off Alaska some years ago, later studies found that our efforts to clean up paled against the efficiency of Mother Nature. Wave action, sun, and the vastness of the ocean took care of most of the problem.

This is not to say that we don’t need to be concerned and careful but sometimes we need to look past our fears at the reality of the situation. Things are not as bad as many seem to continuously declare and, in fact, we are living in a wonderfully stable time of peace and economic growth. Are the wars? Yes, there usually are, but we are also living in one of the most peaceful times of history, a time when we are making real strides against poverty, despite our own sometimes misguided efforts. Let’s keep our heads, trust a little that God did not make us as stupid and destructive as some may think, and make some real progress in this world. We sometimes seem to do this despite self destructive tendencies. What could we do if we had a positive attitude?

Father Steven Foppiano