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.

Haiti

It is home to nearly ten million people, most of whom live in abject poverty. Its long pattern of corrupt governance has rendered its people helpless. It is the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere. And today, it finds itself in the most dire situation after a 7.0 magnitude earthquake ravaged its most densely populated city, Port Au-Prince. It is feared that more than a hundred thousand are dead and many more unaccounted for in a country too poor to invest in the proper infrastructure that could withstand earthquakes.

Reading, listening, and watching the news unfold in the past 24-hours via CNN, New York Times, radio stations, blogs, etc., I'm compelled to give out of my poverty what I can to do something to the people of Haiti. At times like these, I wish I had more money so that I could at least give more. At times like these, I wish I could be mobilized to even go to ground zero and help in the search and rescue operations. But I believe that if my God could feed thousands with just five loaves of bread and two fish, then my small financial donation could be multiplied in bringing healing and compassion to those in desperate need.

Instead of hearing fundamentalist and televangelists (once again) attribute a horrific natural disaster to the work of God's judgment and a curse, I wish to live out my faith by serving the poor, the weak, and the orphans. Jesus did not come down to condemn, but instead, he came to seek and save what was lost.

Will you join me and others in giving, not out of wealth, but out of poverty to those less fortunate than us? Here are some places taking donations to serve the people of Haiti:

• International Red Cross
• American Red Cross
  
• World Vision
  
• Samaritan's Purse
• CARE
• Doctor's Without Borders
• Catholic Relief Services

Another Year

It's rapidly approaching that time when everyone is reflecting on the year. There have surely been many newsworthy events that have transpired over the past twelve months. The inauguration of Barack Obama as the first African-American President of the United States, North Korea's failed satellite launch and subsequent second nuclear test, former South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun's suicide, outbreak of H1N1 virus around the world, Iranian presidential election and its subsequent pro-reformist demonstrations that have continued, death of Michael Jackson, riots in Xinjiang between Han Chinese and Uyghurs, Roxana Saberi's detention and release by Iran, Laura Ling and Euna Lee's detention and release by North Korea, coup d'etat in Honduras, typhoons ravage Taiwan and Southeast Asia, the emergence of the G-20, the 2016 Summer Olympics to Brazil, President Obama's Nobel Peace Prize and its subsequent controversies, escalation of War on Terror in Afghanistan, healthcare reform in the United States, and so on.

On a personal note, the year has flown by. I can't believe another year has come and gone, and I don't even know where it went. Quantitative analysis, national security and WMD proliferation, insurgency and counterinsurgency, nuclear North Korea, intelligence and foreign policy, and political risk analysis. Internships at the Hudson Institute and the Korea Economic Institute in the summer and fall. Waiting for security clearance for internship next semester. Paul and Gina in February, Moses and Julie and Dyon and Shlim in May, Mike and Liz and Dave and Anita in June, and Yohan and Grace in October. Missed out on P.Jimmy and Grace in June and Dave and Jihye in October. My brother's graduation from UCLA in June. Two trips to Ann Arbor in May, and two trips to SoCal in June. New church plant in DC. Start of job searches and the preparation for the beginning of the end of my formal education forever. And the list goes on and on.

It has been a year of many ups and downs, but like all good things, it must come to an end. I can't wait for the ball to drop in Times Square and usher in a new year, a year that will bring new blessings and new challenges. But before then, I wish to reflect some more, especially on a spiritual level. I want Psalm 42:1 to be my prayer throughout next year, to long for God in a deeper and more meaningful way.

One Baby

It ain't about the presents, the Christmas trees, and the mistletoes.
It sure ain't about Santa Claus and his team of reindeers.
It most definitely isn't about the shopping madness online or in the malls.
It ain't about the carols, the jingle bells, or even the hymns of old.
It ain't even about attending midnight mass or any religious service.
It ain't all this and much more.

Everything boils down to just one thing.
It is the one thing that has given hope to a bleak and cold world.
That one thing was a he, and he came from humble origins, origins from ancient of days.
Love came down, and it has changed everything.

do not be afraid. I bring good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord.

Thank You

A couple of friends and I decided to pay a visit to the final resting place of a fallen friend. We had the day off, to commemorate Veteran's Day, and we felt it was only appropriate to spend time at Arlington, paying our respects to the men and women of the armed forces who paid the ultimate sacrifice for country. It was a dreary day, with the rain coming down at a steady rate and the cold wind blowing in our face. But the experience of seeing families, friends, veterans, soldiers, and visitors walking the hallowed grounds of Arlington National Cemetery to pay tribute to fallen colleagues, husbands, wives, sons, daughters, brothers, sisters, friends, and strangers was unforgettable.

A lot can be said about the politics of war. The debate of what to do about Afghanistan continues to rage inside the Beltway, as President Obama wrestles with one of the hardest decisions a president surely has to make: whether to send more soldiers in harm's way. But I leave that discussion for another day. This day, I thank the men and women of the armed forces for their incredible sacrifice and valor. We, as a nation, are indebted to their service. I also thank military families for their sacrifices that go largely unnoticed. Last, but not least, I thank our fallen heroes whose lives have been cut short but never forgotten.

Here is a blog entry written by a stranger who, even after three years, also cannot forget the sacrifice of Andy Kim,our fallen friend who was KIA in Iraq. Andy Minhee Kim, you are remembered. Thanks, friend, for everything.

In light of Veteran's Day, here is one of the most moving advertisements I have ever seen. Thank you.

Tear Down This Wall

Given the significance of today's date in history, I figured I'd break my drought of blogging and reflect on the momentous occasion of the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall.

Ich Bin ein Berliner. President John F. Kennedy's speech in June 26, 1963 was a rallying point for West Germans at a time when the lines of the Cold War were drawn with the erection of the Berlin Wall. "Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!" President Ronald Reagan's speech in June 12, 1987 was another momentous occasion. Finally, on November 9, 1989, the physical wall that separated a city and a country came crashing down. The wall that had physically divided a nation was no more, and families, separated for decades, reunited. Democracy had prevailed, and twenty years later, the world commemorates the anniversary.

But another Cold War relic continues to divide another people group half-way around the world. The Koreans, historical victims of great power politics, remain divided. President Bill Clinton once remarked that the demilitarized zone (DMZ) that separates the two Koreas "is the scariest place on earth." North Korea has more than a million-member army with hundreds of short-range missiles aimed at Seoul, ready to reunite the country by force at a moment's notice. South Korea, along with U.S. forces, is bunkered along the border ready to defend the South. North Korea has been developing nuclear weapons, while the United States has extended its nuclear deterrence to protect South Korea. The Korean War remains technically unresolved, with no formal peace treaty ever signed.

In this context, families have been separated for more than sixty years. Once in awhile, the two Koreas have agreed to allow pre-selected families to reunite in historic summits, which have generally been emotional affairs that have garnered international attention. The latest family reunion took place a couple of months ago at Mt. Keumkang in North Korea. Yet, unlike the dissolution of the artificial division in Germany, the two Koreas remain at odds with each other, well into the 21st century. And there is no end in sight.

Yet, I am hopeful that one day, the strength of the human will can break down the finally legacy of the Cold War. I hope that in my lifetime I will see a people group, long divided over ideology and politics, reunite at last. I hope to see a stronghold of tyranny and oppression be replaced by rule of law and justice. It is long overdue that the wall that divides a people be torn down. And I hope it eventually will. But until that day comes...

Hear Our Cry

there are times when words are not enough to capture the emotions of the heart.
despair. anger. shock. awe. ambivalence. helpless.
the list goes on. and on. and on.
until there is nothing left to say.
when the silence becomes so deafening.

Typhoon Ketsana (Ondoy). in Vietnam. in the Phillipines. Indonesia.

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what is the body?
if one part suffers, all suffers with it.
we are blessed to be a blessing.
our inconvenience is their lifeline.
this is the body.
do something about it.

world vision. others.