The good, the bad, and the ugly

The good...

It's wonderful to hear that the rescue and relief effort in New Orleans seems to finally be under a full head of steam. A report on CNN today indicated that approximately 40,000 had already been evacuated from the stricken city, and food, water, and medical supplies are finding their way to those that need them most. Even Corporate America is moving at an accelerated pace to assist, and while I retain my basic distrust of big-business' motivations and practices, I'd be wrong if I didn't applaud the genuine good deeds that are happening today.

This news doesn't negate the issues raised by myself and others about shameful delays and lack of early leadership. But for now, I simply want to say "thanks and God bless" to the thousands of individuals on site at this moment, working bravely and tirelessly to help the citizens of The Big Easy.

The bad...

I think this one speaks for itself. We must all be ever watchful, involved, and if need be, actively outraged at any attempts to exploit the current disaster in the Gulf (and you're free to choose which Gulf I mean). Our energy problems are only going to get worse before they get better, and we have to contact our elected representatives and let them know that we need more than their pathetic, inadequate, recently-passed Energy Bill. Here in the "upper half" of the nation, the problem of rising gas prices will soon be compounded by Fall and Winter demands for heating oil, and we need a decisive plan in advance from Washington. It's time to get serious about alternative fuels and conservation, and to send a clear message to big oil. Can you hear me now?

The ugly...

The horror stories emerging in greater detail from the survivors in Louisiana have created a dark feeling of despair in my heart, a bitter revulsion at the lurking savagery of mankind. The fact that individuals caught up in a shared disaster would do anything other than help their fellow human beings is simply incomprehensible to me. And, as liberal
as I am to my very core, I can only hope that those who committed these atrocities reap the harshest consequences imaginable for their actions.

I can't help but remember the days following 9/11, when all of us in Manhattan, bound by common shock and grief, banded together to do whatever we could to help those around us, regardless of race, gender, age, ethnicity, or political persuasion. That same spirit pervaded the great blackout of August 2003, where strangers shared food and water and shelter, where masses of people slept in the open without fear, where businesses and personal property went unharmed. Let's hope there is universal condemnation of the depravity of the few in N.O., and an unspoken commitment by all of us to be better to each other across the board.

Keep the faith, and have a safe and satisfying Holiday weekend.