AID

 

Aid is help, typically of a practical nature of empathy.

Assistance, support, help, backing, abidance, encouragement, cooperation, succor, a helping hand are all giving aid.

 

Financial aid or grants or loans or medical aid for disasters or natural anomalies or legal aid for those times of law infractions or military aid for protection and security. Empathy cost money.

The first responders rush in after a catastrophe. They will risk their own lives to pull bloody remains out of the rubble before the bull dowsers plow away the trash. The second responders are attempting to recover life from the survivors while others just place the parts in a plastic bag. Then there are the third responders who patch up those who decided to live and those who must identify the body parts. The fourth responders dig the holes in the ground to deposit the loved ones among the grieving and then move onto the next.

Everyone hopes for aid. No matter if it is a disaster with no hope for relief to a mild case of the flu, we all appreciate that someone else comes to our aid.

In simple terms, a grant is a financial gift given by one party (like a government or foundation) to another (like a person or organization) for a specific purpose. Unlike a loan, a grant doesn't have to be paid back, and the funds are typically intended to support a particular project or initiative

Our first grants are our allowance. It may seem to be a payment for doing choirs, but it was not expected to be paid back. Credit cards and bank loans expect to be paid back in full with interest. Winning the lottery seems like a grant, but you have to pay taxes on it. Go Fund Me campaigns are seeking grants, not loans. There are religious organizations, charitable groups and foundations set up to give assistance to those needing aid at no cost.

FEMA, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, is the federal agency that coordinates the response to disasters nationwide. Its mission is to help people before, during, and after disasters by preparing communities, responding to disasters, and supporting recovery efforts

FEMA generally doesn't cover damage to non-essential items, landscaping, or personal property that is not essential to making a home habitable. They also won't cover damage if you've already received funding from insurance or other sources for the same disaster-related needs. FEMA also doesn't cover business losses, secondary homes, or certain types of damage like flood damage or damage from sewer backups.

You can’t buy smarts (or love) but they will both cost you. Schools and desk and blackboards and teachers and buses and books are not free. There are educational aids called tutors who try to get kids over the learning bumps.

You can have pot luck dinners for the hungry, but tomorrow they will come back for more. You can gather some shoes and t-shirts out of your closet to give to the disaster relief fund but what happens is they are the wrong size? You can donate that camper you never use to some worthy cause only to have it get stacked up at the junk yard. You can throw money at the homeless, but it is never enough to get them a permanent shelter. Will you invite them into your house to share your kitchen? Will you let your children play with them?  

You can get emotional aid or spiritual aid or political aid, but they are mostly advice and opinions and bias.

At some point, the band aid must come off.