Just a thought...

Megachurch pastor Joel Osteen has recently come under fire for his response to Hurricane Harvey. I haven't said anything nor responded to posts about him because I really don't feel I know enough about his situation to weigh in on the issue.
What I will say is there is a definite (and expected) disconnect from the reality that the majority of Americans deal with and the life of those that are privileged beyond what we can imagine.

Not long ago, I checked on the contract of a major league relief pitcher -- not a star, just a guy in the bullpen that sees some action once in a while. Even though I was amazed by this 20-something's salary, it was far below the league average of over 4 million dollars/year plus a $100/day meal allowance.
And that is nothing compared to Osteen wealth or Trump wealth or any number of celebrities that get the money and the platform to speak out and be heard. There are a number of celebrities that I follow on Twitter or Instagram. On one hand they often seem to be very genuine and the kind of person I might like. On the other hand, they have no idea what it is like to live in my simple world and would doubtfully take the time to say a few words to a random fan if I were to encounter them somewhere (I can't imagine where) along my life's journey.

St. Louis Cardinal Matt Carpenter said he would donate $10,000 to Harvey relief for every home run he hits for the rest of the season. Pitcher Adam Wainwright and the St. Louis Cardinals said they would match it. That's great and I'm glad they're doing that. Matt's 2017 contract is for $10 million and Adam's is for $19.5 million! These guys make more in a 3 hour ballgame than most people make in a year!

Don't get me wrong -- I'm not begrudging them their wealth. I'm just pointing out that their world is far different from the majority of us. Their kids will never be among the millions of kids that look forward to school simply because they know they'll get a good meal (or two) each and every school day. A car breakdown or bad appliance isn't going to stress the budget or mean no vacation to the campground this weekend.
The truth is -- even in my middle class life in the Ozarks, I live in a far different world than many of the people of my community.

And I often feel like I have no voice and no platform from which to speak.
How helpless and hopeless other must feel. Even with a disaster, they are not much more than a temporary news item. Their personal life disruption will go on long after the media attention and the money go away.

I don't really know if this little rant has a point or not.
Maybe I'm just realizing that some people may not seem to care -- not because they are uncaring, but simply because they have no idea of the struggles going on in the lives of the people around them.

John <><