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November 22, 2006

The latest Katrina scam

 
For those who have been paying attention (instead of relying on the impressions generated by MSM coverage of the supposed rapes and killings in the Superdome), Hurricane Katrina’s aftermath has offered quite an education in humanity: the good, the bad, and the ugly.

From the Associated Press:

A church that wanted to do something special for Hurricane Katrina victims gave a $75,000 house, free and clear, to a couple who said they were left homeless by the storm. But the couple turned around and sold the place without ever moving in, and went back to New Orleans.

“Take it up with God,” an unrepentant Joshua Thompson told a TV reporter after it was learned that he and the woman he identified as his wife had flipped the home for $88,000.

Church members said they feel their generosity was abused by scam artists. They are no longer even sure that the couple were left homeless by Katrina or that they were a couple at all.

“They came in humble like they really needed a new start, and our hearts went out to them,” said Jean Phillips, a real estate agent and member of the Temple of Deliverance Church of God in Christ. “They actually begged for the home.”

The church was also shocked by an ungrateful interview the couple gave with WHBQ-TV in Memphis.

“I really don’t like this area,” said Delores Thompson. “I really didn’t, and I didn’t know anybody, so that’s why I didn’t move in and I sold it.”

The mind boggles at such ingratitude and cynicism. The good church people who gave of themselves to help their fellow human beings have been utterly betrayed.

Yet can we really be surprised? The human heart has the capacity for great evil. It is only the conditioning of society, based on moral teachings, that allows the good side of human nature to flourish, as it did among the members of the Temple of Deliverance Church of God in Christ.

Without the guidance of moral teaching, and absent institutions like churches which propagate and reinforce those teachings, the evil side of human nature flourishes. We see suicide bombers, genocide, and other examples of how evil can dwell in the hearts of men.

That is why we need police and military. To protect us from evil-doers.

For all its cultural and culinary glories, New Orleans was a deeply corrupt place, poisoning hearts. Unfortunately, I see no evidence that any kind of moral reformation is accompanying the massive amounts of money promised to rebuild the city.

The couple who scammed the church will probably get away with it. In fact, they may become folk heroes of a sort among some in their community, to which they now have returned. My heart breaks for the abused members of Temnple of Deliverance. May they go forward, sadder and wiser, and direct their future charity toward those more worthy. In the words of Ronald reagan, “Trust, but verify.”

Hat tip: Jack Kemp

Thomas Lifson  11 22 06

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