Having become a day of rest in much of the country again, Sundays were marked as 'family days' that begun by attending the church, synagogue, or mosque of their choice. It was a new awakening for millions of Americans who had previously neglected church in favor of a Sunday-morning sleep-in and a shopping trip to the local mall or nearest WalMart. Church attendance was at record highs. On Sunday, May 18, 2008, many churchgoers heard news from the pulpit that had not been broadcast over public airwaves.
The National Association of Churches announced it had joined forces with Habitat for Humanity to begin a massive rebuilding effort in the three metropolitans that had suffered untold damage from the O.U.T.R.A.G.E. bombings, the east coast hurricane and the L.A. earthquake. Three cities were targeted, including Washington, DC; New York City; and Los Angeles. Funding was being made available from many different organizations, including the world headquarters of the Catholic Church, the Vatican. Billions of dollars were being made available for the construction of multiple-dwelling housing units, all to be built with materials that had been donated from home improvement retailers, distributors, and manufacturers from all over the United States and throughout the world. All labor would be done on a volunteer basis; what labor wasn't provided by the non-profit groups would come from volunteers who had signed up to assist with the incredible undertaking. Such an outpouring of generosity was unheard of in contemprorary times. Oh, to be sure, Americans had been generous when the tsunami struck Indonesia a few years ago. Americans had given unselfishly when Katrina hit New Orleans in 2005. The irony here was that this time the money wasn't coming from 'common' American citizens who could only afford fifty or a hundred bucks. This time, money was coming from the wealthy individuals, organizations with very deep pockets, and even private foundations and trusts (most of whom seldom gave money outside of the particular sphere of interest).
As Reverend Andrew Baker told his congregation in central Illinois, "This is truly a gift from God. If there is anyone who doesn't believe that the Spirit of our Lord can work modern miracles, I urge him to look around and see what greatness has come from the ashes of our nation's tragedy." In the past, if someone had a net worth of ten million dollars, you might expect to get a $1,000 - or perhaps, on a good day - a $10,000 contribution. Now millionaires were actually giving up their entire fortunes to help those with less fortune. After the service, a member of the congregation privately told Baker he only had a life savings of $4,800, but he was going to donate it all to this program. "Next," he said quietly, "I intend to go out and help raise more money. I'm old, and I really wouldn't be able to help with the physical construction of these buildings, but I'm a damn good salesman, and I sure can contribute my time toward trying to raise more money. He recalled, he claimed, that Jesus had once said something to affect that "if you give it all away, I will reward you ten times". Was the man looking to increase his life savings to $48,000.00? Probably not, Baker surmised. He was simply looking to do good things with his good fortune.
Reverend Baker encouraged his parishoner's goodwill by quoting from the Biblical Book of St. Matthew, Chapter 19, verses 20-24. It's the story of a rich young ruler who approached Christ about what he must do to attain eternal life. Christ Jesus suggested that the young man, of obvious privilege and wealth, "keep the commandments". The young potentate protested that he had, indeed, not committed murder or adultery; had not stolen or bore false witness. Jesus went on, as is recorded beginning with Verse 20: "The young man saith unto Him, 'All these things I have kept from my youth up. what lack I yet?' Jesus said unto him, 'If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give it to the poor, and thou shalt have treasures in Heaven; and come and follow me.' But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful; for he had great possessions. Then said Jesus unto His disciples, 'Verily I say unto you that a rich man shall hardly enter into the kingdom of Heaven. And again I say unto you: it is easier for a camel to go throough the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God."
All funds would be collected, accounted for, and distributed through O.U.T.R.A.G.E. 'cells' around the country. The sites that had been set up originally as polling places for the interim elections last March were no being used as clearinghouses for this huge windfall of money that would start pouring in very soon. O.U.T.R.A.G.E. had proven itself to be fiscally prudent when it came to managing its own money (and there were still questions about where all of the O.U.T.R.A.G.E. money came from, since it seemed to have an inexhaustible cache of cash). It made sense to allow this revolutionary organization to monitor what would probably become the greatest private philanthropic endeavor in contemporary history.
Unlike government, which would almost certainly piss away these billions of dollars on ineffective programs, cumbersome bureaucracies, and fraudulent functions of ineptness and gross incompetence, most people had every confidence that the O.U.T.R.A.G.E. organization, which had planned and executed the 'Rebellion of '08' would use prudence, wisdom, fairness, and competence in seeing to it that this handsome sum of abundance would not be sqaundered.
Congress had proven itself, over decades of malfeasance, to be fiscally irresponsible and worthlessly reckless. This kind of shameful misconduct would not be tolerated in the "new" United States of America.
O.U.T.R.A.G.E., it was announced in thousands of churches, had already set up a special account in the Cayman Islands into which all funds would be deposited, and to which any donations could be sent. A public accounting of every penny it spent would be available for inspection at anytime. O.U.T.R.A.G.E. was determined to ensure that there would be no graft or kickbacks. As one U.S. Congressman said ever so blithley years ago, "A billion here, a billion there...pretty soon it adds up to real money!" It was an obvious demonstration of how carelessly Congress considered its responsibilities toward managing the taxpayers' money. O.U.T.R.A.G.E. couldn't afford to let one nickel slip through the cracks.