2009 - edgy!

It's been a while since my last post, life can get in the way of writing and it annoys me terribly! So far, we've had shocking bush-fires. Let me sit on this one for a moment. Just after the bush-fires Armi and I went to see Sonya Hartnett speak on her book Butterfly (excellent read) and the Convents Writers Festival run by Readers Feast. She had apparently written a piece in the Age which mentioned the bushfires and her comments were something like 'you live in the bush, there are bushfires, get over it'. I was iniatlly a little taken aback, this is a sentiment I essentially share, and as Sonya said this, I interrogated the moment and I came up with a reason so many people who are interested in social justice are so annoyed with the lamenting for the fire victims. We all care about fire victims because they are us. We can identify with their families, houses, cars, animals, we can picture ourselves and empathise with the loss in a way that terrifies us; helping fire victims is us helping ourselves. Although kind it is not really charitable; it is worthwhile and heartwarming but it is not charitable. Charity would be demanding housing for people who have been long term homeless. Charity would be donating money to organisations who support safe places for children. Charity would be foster care. Charity would be not buying yourself a new TV and then donating to an orphanage in India (Our Home http://www.ourhomecharity.org/). Charity is in short, a challenge and we as Australians do not often rise to this challenge maybe the bushfires will motivate us and make us more charitable, however, somehow I doubt it.