the great divorce

I received my $600 from Uncle Sam this past week. And while visions of MacBooks and trips to the Caribbean danced before my eyes, I found myself questioning the value of investing in…well, myself.

Especially since the whole point of this little gift from the government was to stimulate the American economy, a tidy little euphemism for succumbing to consumerism.

I have been trying to keep up with what’s going on in Myanmar and China, and trying to wrap my mind around the devastation and loss and tragedy that hundreds of thousands of people are facing right now.

Last night was the Florida Music Festival in downtown Orlando. Our band (the OaKs) played a half hour set, opening up for the Blue Man Group. There was something really refreshing about playing this year. Last year, I think the time mix-up and rain kind of stressed everyone out. This year, it was just fun and relaxing. It was great to see so many friends and people come out to the show, I enjoyed the set, although I was really bummed we didn’t get to do our last song due to time restrictions.

But thinking back on last night, as much as I enjoyed it, part of me marveled at the contrast between this festive, carefree luxury I had of a night of music and city life, when halfway across the world, hundreds of thousands of people are struggling to survive and make sense of tragedy. As much as I enjoyed last night, I can’t seem to divorce that experience from the reality of what’s going on in Myanmar and China.

Because I have a responsibility.

And this is making me think twice about what I am going to use that money for…I hope I am not being unpatriotic or doing my part to perpetuate rather than stem the tide of recession, but as far as economics goes, the whole stimulus package was a terrible idea anyway.

Might as well use some of it to do a little good in this world.