Katrina
September 2, 2005

The wedding trifecta is complete, and I have a boatload of pictures to remind me of my wonderful weekend with my men. The bride looked like a vision, the groom could not stop glowing, and even Steve’s skeptical nature gave way to the joy of love. We even danced. I will recount these in my next missive.

Reality has intruded upon my Pollyanna perspective.

Four years ago we watched the towers in New York tumble, and just last spring we were horrified by the tsunami. This week, we need to get our hearts and eyes around an epic disaster. Louisiana and Mississippi have been dealt a cruel blow by nature, compounded by decades of governmental indifference. The hopelessness of the situation is palpable on CNN and FOX. The people there have no place to return to, no jobs, nothing. I read a story about a little boy who had only his rescued dog to cling to; he was stripped of this comfort in order to be bussed to Houston. Cruelty is being heaped upon cruelty as the displaced realize they are homeless. With nothing to lose, the descent into despair and lawlessness is a short one. We cannot abandon any of these sad people any more than we could turn our backs upon those affected by tsunamis and 9-11.

What can we do? Of course, we must respond generously with Red Cross donations.

Money is the best way to help out in the short term. The Red Cross has millions to dispatch immediately, and we can replenish their funds. The goods purchased most proximately to the disaster will help allay the current misery most effectively.

We do not need musicians planning concerts and releasing cds to trigger the giving. We do not need radiothons. Who needs to be nattered by a dj, musician or newspaper to give? We will just do the right thing, for God’s sake. It is insulting to be preached to as if we had no common sense. Anyone with eyes can assess the scope of horror overwhelming these people. Anyone with heart will dig deep.

I always wonder about people who wrap themselves in relief efforts: sometimes they are earnest, but sometimes they are attaching themselves to a cause to absorb good will. I guess it does not matter in the end; maybe there is no such thing as an altruistic deed. Of course, thousands of everyday heroes prove that maxim wrong when they donate without fanfare, just because it is the right thing to do. These are my kind of people.

It will be years before the cities and their inhabitants recover. In the meantime, there is endless work to do. When we have time, we will need to ask ourselves how this happened. Are the states so fractionalized in Washington that no one considers the Big Picture? Why are we rabid about securing the oil reserves in the Far East, even engaging in war to assure stability in that part of the world, while we ignore the security of the American oil industry? There is clearly no comprehensive plan, and that is something that will frighten thinking people. It was a gamble not to fund the levee projects in the gulf, and it was a gamble with people’s lives. A government has a higher obligation to its people. We trust that our welfare is of interest to our elected officials. That trust must seem misplaced by hundreds of thousands of working class citizens who are struggling against every impediment conceived of: darkness, missing loved ones, fear, shortages of food and medical care, flooding, snakes, alligators, lawlessness, contamination, and total destruction. I am sure that is only the tip of the iceberg of suffering.

We can attempt to help the victims keep the faith in the short term by our generosity. We can honor their sacrifices by demanding accountability from Washington, and by bringing the best and brightest minds to carefully plan and effectuate the restoration or rehabilitation of these regions. Of course, we can pray for them, and give thanks for our blessings. At this moment, however, actions will speak louder than words.