Katrina, New Orleans...

I haven't mentioned the hurricane and the devastation it's brought to New Orleans and elsewhere. Truly, I don't know what to think about it. Aside from donating to the Red Cross, there's a feeling of helplessness about the whole thing. I think I'm in a bit of a holding pattern. We've heard things about the city and the flooding, but I don't want to jump to conclusions. I've only visited New Orleans once so I don't have a strong emotional tie to it, but really, it's more than a city. There's such a mythological aura built up around it and that legend is what lives in all of our minds, not just in the hearts of those who have had the good fortune to get to know it personally. The idea that such a place could essentially no longer be is... a shift.

And then there's all the crap that this has brought to the surface about our society. The fact that so many people were evacuated to a safe place which became unsafe... so many people trapped with no help coming... frustration at our government... I don't know what to think. The response to the disaster has been slow, but I don't know how fast it could be. Is it realistic to think that everyone could be brought out the next day? No. Is it possible that those responsible in our government didn't think about the fact that these people were going to begin to starve in just days? Yes. And is it possible that those responsible didn't think about it specifically because most of those who would suffer were "disposable"? Yes. Yes. Yes. Still, I don't know what they were thinking. Were they making plans for food drops? Were they assembling a fleet of relief ships? Were they too busy making a new mix for their ipod and deciding whether to order Indian or Chinese? I don't know. There's a part of me that's so ashamed of the entire situation that I don't want to know. And the foolish comments of people like Dennis Hastert don't help. And the fact that Condoleeza Rice went to see a Broadway Show while the crisis was unfolding doesn't help. And the fact that Bush is looking forward to see how Trent Lott will rebuild doesn't help. And if Lott gets a beautiful new mansion built with federal funds, it won't help. If I see one single mention from some freak-show that this is God's punishment for New Orleans' wicked ways, it won't help.