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#HoustonStrong

By Staff | Sep 1, 2017

It seems 2017 has proven to be a year of turmoil, strife and disunity.

No matter who is to blame, something had to give. And it seems that thing turned out to be yet another disaster. This last week saw Hurricane Harvey ravage Texas, specifically Houston, with seemingly never ending rains, leading to massive flooding.

What is being heralded now as a once in a million years storm, it will surely be a long time before Houston sees anything in the way of substantial recovery.

However, as rain fell and floods rose one image started to emerge from Texas: kindness and help. Regardless of race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, political party or any other separating marker and demographic – Texans were out helping other Texans.

People were wading out into the waters to rescue those trapped in flooded houses or vehicles. Various religious and secular organizations began to take donations of money, food and clothing. And various other people risked their lives for people, many of whom they had never met, to pull them from the rising flood.

While some have taken advantage of the situation to loot – which is too often the case – those instances have been few and far between. Some other entities have drawn national ire for their unwillingness to open their facilities up to displaced individuals.

It is important to note, however, is that those aren’t the norms.

What is normal is human beings coming together to help other human beings in a time of crisis. There is no black or white divide in a hurricane. There is no rich or poor in a flood. There is no such thing as a Democrat or Republican homes and lives are destroyed by natural disaster.

While what Texas is currently going through is tragic, let it be a reminder to us all of what it looks like to care for others. Lets not wait for the next disaster to find opportunities to be kind and generous.