There is a beautiful balance to the world we find ourselves living in. Popular media sources bombard our news feeds with story after story documenting the next global catastrophe knocking on humanity’s door step. A few weeks ago, this story was our President’s bold decision to proudly sign his country up for a nuclear pissing contest with North Korea. It seemed like any news channel I turned on at the time focused its coverage solely on the rising magnitude of the Heavy-weight show down occurring between Trump and Kim Jong Un. Now, In the next series of life threatening headlines, Texas is being hit with the strongest storm in the State’s history, Hurricane Harvey. The storm has produced images which are eerily reminiscent of the path of destruction left by Hurricane Katrina, and as the rain continues to come down over Houston property damage and death rates are bound to rise along with the water levels. Even amongst so much misfortune, if we look to the right places, we can still bear witness to humanity’s amazing balancing act. After all, it is often the most difficult times which bring out the best in people.
When looking at the dramatic impact Hurricane Harvey is having on communities throughout Texas it’s easy to view the situation through only the veil of tragedy, but I’ve found that following the work of individuals rather than relying on popular media sources has shed a much more optimistic light on the situation. The media I used to gain this positive insight? Primarily Instagram and Twitter. I don’t follow many celebrities or people from the Houston area, but it still didn’t take long for the social influences of both stars and everyday folks alike to spread hope inspiring content covering Hurricane Harvey to my timeline. Content in these posts ranged anywhere from calls to action, to cries for help, to riveting recordings of rescues. Despite the world of bad news which can sometimes engulf us, and the seemingly worsening news coming from the areas surrounding Houston, individual stories detailing the heroics of those people who’ve risen to the challenges presented by Hurricane Harvey seem to suggest a brighter future for the affected area’s than most news sources would admit.
Several celebrities and organizations have already made their donation receipts public, putting pressure on their peers to do the same. For example, Houston based professional sports teams have donated over 9 million dollars as of August 28th, and this is without including the impressive charitable donations coming from players like J.J. Watt. Large donations stemming from the likes of Watt and his Houston Texans left some seriously big shoes to fill for others seeking to lend a hand in Houston, but nothing too big for a queen.
Houston native, Beyoncé, has been in communication with the Houston Chronicle, and has released several statements addressing the estimated 30,000 people who’ve been effected by Hurricane Harvey. In one statement, Beyoncé told the Houston Chronicle that “My heart goes out to my hometown, Houston, and I remain in constant prayers for those affected and for the rescuers who have been so brave and determined to do so much help.” Beyoncé continued to report, “I am working closely with my team at BeyGOOD as well as with my pastor [Rudy Rasmus at St. John’s in downtown Houston] to implement a plan to help as many as we can,” for those of us who aren’t die hard Beyoncé fans, BeyGOOD is the charitable enterprise that she started in 2013 with Mrs. Carter World Tour. Sense being founded in 2013, Beyonce and BeyGOOD have worked together to help raise $80,000 dollars towards relief for the Flint water crisis, and provided aid for Burundi in the form of clean drinking water. Aside from the financial aid Beyoncé and BeyGOOD will be providing, she also addressed her Instagram followers with a simple yet important message, posting the words “TEXAS YOU ARE IN MY PRAYERS” in front of the silhouette of the Texas state flag.
Kevin Hart - a man whose made his fortune by finding the comedy in the worst of situations - has also decided to throw his weight behind aid efforts for Houston. Deciding to put his jokes on hold, Hart got serious about Hurricane Harvey in a brief video which he posted on his Instagram account. In his video Hart pledged that he would donate $25,000 towards Hurricane Harvey relief, and then went on to use his unique charisma and several of the wealthier connections he’s made in Hollywood to challenge Beyoncé, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, Chris Rock, and Dave Chappelle to do the same. While its inspiring to see our celebrities coming together to support such an important cause, perhaps the most powerful content I’ve seen coming out of Houston are the images and videos of the brave people responding to the crisis on the ground.
While I would love to give credit to all the individual first responders in Houston like the men and women serving as our National Guard, Police Officers, Fire Fighters, and Paramedics, it would be next to impossible to list off all their names within one 1,000-word article. So - in celebration of the everyday heroes - I’d like to call attention to an athlete who considers himself somewhat of an everyday kind of guy, UFC Heavyweight contender, Derrick Lewis. When the storm struck Lewis did not hesitate to use his talents to get out and help. In a similar fashion to many of his neighbors, Lewis left the safety of his home to venture into the storm and help carry anything from children to supplies through the pouring rain and heavy floods. You can find these videos of Derrick Lewis doing what he does best on his twitter page @TheBeast_ufc.
The world may not be perfectly balanced, and Houston still needs more help than we can give, but it seems to me that when bad news emerges good people are always close by. #PrayforHouston
