If you are reading this, welcome to my blog. I haven't added anything for quite sometime, so if you have somehow found your way to this site it's quite possibly a minor occurrence of destiny/synchronicity. Anyway...

So much tragedy and sadness in Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama, and it's far from over. The final death count won't even begin to address those who die in a few months or years as a direct result of the hardships they've encountered, nor will it speak of the lives altered and potential unrealized. Strangely, this tragedy's darkest impact doesn't come from Nature's wrath, but instead from the way we humans deal with the aftermath. Right now, there's many individuals and cities who are opening their hearts and wallets to the victims, exactly the way it should be. But what happens in 2 months, 6 months, 2 years down the road when some of the victims have not recovered to the extent that they can stand on their own and take up some semblance of their former lives? What happens when they don't go home, and instead choose to remain in their new cities, but can't quite get it going and continue to need assistance from the public. What will happen when tempers grow short and frustration thickens daily? What will happen as cultures collide and different social perspectives can't find enough common ground upon which new beginnings can be laid?

The question of what and where to rebuild looms on the horizon, and I'm certain that certain factions, i.e., those with the money and power, are already envisioning a "new" New Orleans that doesn't include much room, (if any at all), for the poor and disenfranchised former residents who suffered the most because of their lack of financial resources and subsequent inability to escape. Whatever gets rebuilt or re-habilitated will, without some type of government intervention,(read as improbable/impossible),be prohibitively over-priced relative to what the poor were formerly paying for rent, or in some cases living for free in family owned homes that had long been paid off and therefore left uninsured. And what of all the mom & pop shops and stores that catered to the lower classes, those establishment that were integral parts of this community that may be squeezed out? Corporate America is unforgiving when it comes to the bottom line, and it's easy to see a city rebuilt with shiny new buildings housing the requisite Barnes & Noble, Kohls, World Market, etc..., leaving little or no room for small neighborhood shops. I'm sure the Hardrock Cafe will get rebuilt, but probably not Mrs. Pearson's Eats. The heart and soul of any city are its people, and whether anyone wants to admit it or not, that heart and soul will be reduced by every person not welcomed back that wants to return.

And so the rest of the world watches as we flounder along, trying to find our way as we attempt to locate our collective soul. The French know what it means to be French, Japanese citizens take pride in their quietly admirable ways, the Spanish revel in their rollicking way of celebrating centuries of survival. We Americans may be on the verge of figuring out who we are, or at least if we truly are more than just the latest fashion craze or beer commercial mentality. Our political leaders are going to try and use all of this to their advantage under the guise of compassion, and often times that compassion is real, but the spin doctors are already hard at work trying to bring the other side down and thereby gain political advantage. This event needs to transcend politics and vanity, and instead get recognized for what it really is. Our fellow Americans, human beings just like us, whose hopes and dreams have been torn asunder, possibly beyond repair, need our unbiased help. Let empathy be your guide...