Pact with the Devil? Televangelist Pat Robertson has come under fire for apparently blaming the Haiti earthquake on a pact with the Devil made by Haitians a couple of hundred years ago. I am no fan of Pat Robertson, but it may be that his comments are being misconstrued.

Perhaps he was saying that God is punishing Haiti with the earthquake, or perhaps he was saying that the devastation and loss of life resulting from the earthquake is in part a result of the dictatorship and corruption that Haiti has lived under for the last two hundred years.

Haiti is widely reported to be the poorest nation in the Western Hemisphere and it is widely reported to be riddled with corruption and gang violence, and it is an historical fact that it has lived under one dictator after another for most of the last two hundred years. Poverty and corruption are natural consequences of dictatorship and they are far less prevalent in free market societies where the rule of law prevails and respect for private contracts and private property rights are upheld.

Did Haitians make a pact with the Devil? I do not know, but it is evident that Haitians today suffer in a corrupt dictatorship. We can hope that aid reaches them and that the government will be reformed. The Red Cross and Salvation Army are two possible ways to make contributions to help Haitians.

Rebuilding the damage caused by the earthquake will be an enormous task. History suggests that building a free society in Haiti will be even harder.  ¶ 9:12 AM