“To be attached to the subdivisions, to love the little platoon we belong to in society, is the first principle…of public affections. It is the first link in the series by which we proceed towards a love to our country, and to mankind.”
–Edmund Burke, Reflections on the French Revolution
A few minutes after the storm passed on Friday night, my parents and I ventured out into the yard of our Bedford County home to survey the damage. Living, as we do, surrounded by ancient white oaks and black locust trees, we were sure that there would be numerous limbs and twigs on the ground–we hoped that was the extent of the damage, at least. Other than an outdoor garbage can blown to the property line and a corn field that looked like a UFO landing site, a few fallen limbs was, thankfully, the extent of the damage. Seeing firetrucks at a neighbor’s house and more at the nearby intersection, dad and I walked down the hill to talk to the firefighters directing traffic.
There we found Wayne, a second-generation volunteer fireman, and his assistant re-routing traffic away from a small brush fire near the street adjacent to the neighbor’s house. Wayne and his assistant were in good spirits despite the late hour and frightening storm. In fact, we heard the sirens of fire trucks going down the street during the height of the storm. For all the talk of professionalizing local fire departments, the volunteers are just as dedicated to their work as the professionals. Perhaps even more so.
The next day, Thomas Road Baptist Church in Lynchburg, as well as dozens of other churches, elementary schools and firehouses across central Virginia, opened its doors as cooling centers to local residents out of power. Within hours of the storm, Senior Pastor Jonathan Falwell, son of the late Rev. Jerry Falwell, met with Lynchburg mayor Joan Foster to ask how the church can best assist the city’s residents. TRBC is now open around the clock providing shelter, water, ice and meals to displaced Lynchburgers–much of it as a free service to the community. Rev. Falwell told the congregation on Sunday that this was their opportunity to “be the Church” to their city and to share God’s love with all those who are suffering in the sweltering summer heat without electricity, running water, warm meals and cold drinks. Rev. Falwell vows to keep the church open until electricity has been restored to every Lynchburg-area home.
Later that weekend, while visiting the family of a relative who recently passed away, friends drove approximately 40 miles to locate a bag of ice so the grieving widow could have a cold drink. Elsewhere, people with electricity were opening their homes to friends, neighbors and even strangers who were lacking. A coworker took his lunch break on Monday to deliver a crate of Gatorade and a bag of ice to a neighbor whose home was damaged. Meanwhile, utility workers are working around the clock to restore electricity to homes across our Commonwealth so we can continue to sit in air-conditioned homes and offices.
Disasters have the twin potential to bring out the worst–selfishness and avarice–or the best–selflessness and generosity–in survivors. This one has certainly brought out the best in central Virginians. As we prepare to celebrate Independence Day tomorrow, it’s important to remember that one of the essential ingredients of America’s success isn’t necessarily our leadership or our system of government–both are critical–but the character of the American people. Without a people of character, who care about their fellow citizens and don’t need edicts from Richmond or Washington to help their neighbors in times of need, the American Experiment would have failed before it even had a chance to begin.
