People Need Our Help
September 1, 2005: I try not to go off-topic too much on this page, but I can’t ignore the unbelievable devastation in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. Maybe being a parent makes you more sensitive, especially to the pain of children, but I found myself weeping today as I watched the news. I just can’t believe there are thousands of people suffering and dying and that there is so little we can do.
I understand that we can’t prevent nature’s fury, but we all knew this hurricane was coming. For days the news was predicting that the storm would be even worse than it was. So, where were the resources of this great nation when people couldn’t evacuate because they had no transportation out of town? Why weren’t we ready with food and water and every available vehicle in the aftermath? How could we not have the boats and helicopters and amphibious vehicles to get everyone out right now? What happened? Thousands are trapped in the Superdome with no electricity, nothing to eat or drink, overflowing toilets and corpses in the hallways. CNN reported that there are children playing next to dead bodies. This is a nightmare!
I see the parents with their children and I am undone. I heard a woman on the news today talk about swimming to the hospital for medicine for her asthmatic five year old son. She was nine months pregnant. She’s still in the hospital because she went into labor the minute she got there. Her baby was born safely, but she has no idea what became of her five year old son. I can’t even imagine what that would be like.
Give what you can to any charities that are responding to this crisis. If you want to contribute through a LGBT organization, check out The Rainbow World Fund.
My heart and prayers go out to everyone touched by this tragedy.