Haiti Taught Us About Freedom

I've been more or less silent when it came to the situation in Haiti and until now I wasn't sure why. I think that I was sub-consciously waiting to see what Jay Smooth had to say. (Thanks Jay) The troubles of Haiti run so much deeper than one earthquake though. They are a nation that's faced adversity for most of their existence. Un-stable government, poverty, crime, severe weather, you name it and they've faced it. Most notably. Haiti was the first nation of black people to free themselves completely of European rule. Some would argue that that is the cause of their problems. In my home country Bermuda, the topic of independence pops up every few years.

Detractors of independence tend to use struggling independent islands as examples of why Bermuda needs Britain's support. Supporters of independence state that the island runs itself without day to day assistance from Britain and would see little change. I see merit to both sides of the argument, however I'm newly inspired by the history of Haiti. Maybe struggle is just part of the growing pains that go along with independence. Should those growing pains be embraced and not feared? Either way, I respect the Hatian people for taking that fearful step forward into the unknown. The lives lost and the destruction in Haiti this week is an unprecedented tragedy, however I see a silver lining. This could be a chance for them to re-build and make Port-au-Prince better than it ever was. With luck, the international assistance they're receiving may enable them to set up infrastructure for sustaining better living conditions than they previously had. I realize that this is probably a lofty ideal. But if you looking back at Haiti's history, I wouldn't count them out yet.