Most of us are familiar with families that fight among themselves. The family of Steve and Don are very familiar with them; their family is one. Steve and Don are brothers and as kids they fought like cats and dogs not only with each other but with their other siblings. The fights were fierce over the differences they found in each other. But one day Don was attacked by a gang referred to as the Outcasts. Steve reacted by coming to the rescue and he sent the Outcasts packing with their tails between their legs. When the chips were down, Steve was his brother’s keeper. Families may fight among themselves, but watch out when they are confronted by outside forces. Bloodlines, however, are not a requirement for this reaction.

            It was not so long ago that I heard a newscaster declare, “With over 23,000 deaths in Asia, the relief effort is daunting.” We know by now that the Tsunami disaster claimed almost ten times that many lives, but besides the magnitude of the disaster, I was struck by the newscaster’s complete assurance that the citizens of the world would respond to the humanitarian need. And the world did.

Now here we are again in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, yet another event that has left people in despair. And here we are again rallying to serve our brothers and sisters struck down by adversity. There are people in desperate need from the horrific natural disaster, and the citizens of our country are coming to their aid. We give our shelters, we give our money, we give our time, we give our prayers to comfort and aid our fellow human beings.

As a country we share the bond of commitment to our fellow citizens. Just as at 911, we set aside our political, religious and social differences to direct attention to the needs fellow human beings, to give comfort to them, to help them survive and recover from the horror of loss, of pain, suffering and hurting of death. Are we our brothers’ keeper? You bet we are.

Tomorrow the bell will ring again and we will emerge from our corners to debate our differences for making the world a better place, and the heat of those debates may suggest irreconcilable differences between us as we inflict the same pain, suffering and hurting that we just helped others to survive. But don’t be deceived. The next cause will bond us again. When the chips are down, we are our brothers’ keeper.