Stunned Silence

I've been mulling over what to blog about the past few days. A part of me wants to go about business as usual, keeping things light. But in the wake of Hurricane Katrina and the ensuing chaos, mayhem and despair in New Orleans, it's hard not to be affected.

At first, when I read about the Biloxi Mayor's quote of "This is our Tsunami," I thought the comparison vastly inappropriate. The loss of hundreds of thousands of lives in last years Indian ocean tsunami, surely couldn't compare to, maybe what I figured to be at most, 50 lives lost. A tragedy for certain but not equal. Call it American conceit but something of that magnitude couldn't possibly happen in MY backyard. We had so much more warning and we are infinitely better prepared to handle such things.

Hubris interrupted.

As Katrina passed and the destruction that lay in her wake became apparent, conceit turned to shock and disbelief, then to mind-numbing humility.

The shock hasn't warn off yet and has turned to anger. Anger that we have a president that doesn't seem to care. Sure, he cares for the camera but couldn't give a shit. His ratings are already in the toilet, what's the difference? Call the light of day, partisan propaganda, I don't care. Whatever politicizing and table turning helps you sleep at night. But this administration does not and seems to never have had, the American people in mind and continues to fail in this fact. (Links, thanks to PAYOR)

Sigh.

I'm exasperated just thinking about it. I'll go to the gym and blow off some steam.