We're all familiar with the story, which now carries a bitter irony:
Once there was a flood warning. The pious man heard the warnings, and he said "Ah, but God will save us."
The waters began to fall, and the local authorities ordered people to evacuate. Many did, but the pious man continued with his life, saying, again, "Ah, but God will save us."
The waters rose higher, and emergency forces came, but the pious man refused their assistance, saying, yet again, "Ah, but God will save us."
When the town was nearly totally submerged, a helicopter flew to the pious man, currently perched on the top of his roof, but he declined their assistance with the comment, "Ah, but God will save us."
After the pious man finally expired in the flood, he went to God with the question of why he wasn't saved, and God replied, "I sent you warnings, I sent you emergency forces, and I sent you a helicopter. What more could you want?"
We cannot hold the victims of last week's disaster to blame for their victimhood. But we can observe that God has provided at least a partial solution - all in the form of free enterprise. Dreadful things can happen anywhere, but it is worth noting that sensors in New York were able to pick up indications of the earthquake, and, for that matter, the amazing lack of dead animals also provides at least a hint of other ways for man to pick up insight, and, ultimately control over his environment.
I'm addressing this to the people who are so terribly, terribly concerned over the exaggerated trends of outsourcing, which is only a single example of an opportunity for people to be freed up from tasks that can be accomplished more efficiently elsewhere, allowing the former to utilize the greater tradition of creative thought to advance solutions to the world's remaining problems.
- Moishe Potemkin
Posted by MoisheP at December 31, 2004 10:36 AM