Why do bad things happen?

Have you ever noticed that people who say “God only gives you what you can handle” aren’t watching their children starve to death in Somalia?

Nor are they imprisoned in Chinese labor camps.

Nor have they been kidnapped by human traffickers.

“God only gives you what you can handle” are words spoken only by people who have enough food, medical care, and freedom to speak those words. These words are the salve for those who see terrible things happening all over the world but are unwilling to lift a finger in response. They are the balm for those who wish to vacation regularly in Fiji while ignoring the abject poverty just beyond the gates of the resort.

“God only gives those impoverished people what they can handle. Also, rest assured that God has a plan and a reason for babies dying from cancer, and those babies can handle it.”

This kind of thinking has always incensed me.

Happily, a new Pew Research Center survey offers hope. 86 percent of respondents said “sometimes bad things just happen” explains why suffering exists very or somewhat well.

Not God. Not some Almighty plan. Just the unfortunate random happenstance of life.

71 percent of respondents also said that suffering was mostly a consequence of people’s own actions, which certainly isn’t always the case but is also true quite often.

Just look at the thousands of unvaccinated Americans dying of COVID-19 every day.

69 percent of respondents said suffering is the result of the way society is structured, which is also true.

Systemic racism is a perfect example of this. Also the Electoral College and shoot outs in soccer and hockey.

Just play the damn game until someone scores.

And 62 percent said it’s an opportunity for people to come out stronger, which is also true. Not always, of course. The starving children in Somalia, the Chinese imprisoned in labor camps, and the entire population of North Korea are unlikely to find an opportunity to demonstrate their newfound strength, but yes, adversity often sharpens us considerably.

I was so happy to see polling numbers that seem to indicate that Americans are far more rational than I thought.

At least in this case.

In the age of Q’Anon, the MAGA movement, and anti-vaxxers, it’s sometimes hard to remember that a very loud, very stupid, and very destructive minority of fools do not represent the majority of fair minded, even keeled Americans.

Hooray. At least for today.