Moral Responsibility

As many people have been intently focused on the progress of relief efforts in Haiti, I've been encouraged by the outpouring of love and support and compassion. Despite some of the criticisms of the bureaucracy and delays of medicine, food, water, and other necessities, the general public support of this crisis has been phenomenal. It reminds me of the response from previous disasters including the Indian Ocean Tsunami in 2004 and Hurricane Katrina.

But what has been more surprising is how journalists covering the aftermaths of the earthquake have aided in the recovery efforts. More specifically, I admire Anderson Cooper and Dr. Sanjay Gupta for their actions in getting their hands dirty and aiding search and rescue teams as well as medical teams to save lives. Some news outlets and the general population of cynics have surprisingly (or unsurprisingly depending on your perspective) lashed out at CNN's apparent exploitation of the situation for sensationalism and money. Sure, reporting about how you saved someone's life can be seen as self-aggrandizing. But are we, as a society, so cynical that we can't appreciate that journalists like Anderson Cooper and Dr. Sanjay Gupta essentially save people's lives? Too often journalists are judged and criticized for merely covering tragic events without lending a helping hand. Now, some are criticizing them for actually doing something good to help out the situation. It's pretty unbelievable, if you ask me.

Something about Dr. Sanjay Gupta applying his trade as a doctor to give medical attention to the needy was inspiring. I'm sure he had other responsibilities as a journalist and could have easily ignored the pleas of the injured and proceeded to report objectively from a distance. I don't want to speculate on what his motives were to help, but it was refreshing to see that he would tend to the sick and injured himself. Wherever God leads me after graduate school, in whatever job/career I'll be in, I wish to show the same kind of moral fiber that these journalists (and hopefully many other journalists in Haiti) showed by helping out in any way possible even if we're not responsible for it.