New Orleans

As I have sat and watched the coverage this past week of the awful events in New Orleans, I have tried to think of what to make of all of it, what I can really glean from the experience. Though everyone inevitably tries to cast a villain in the piece, to me it's mostly nature's "fault" and there isn't too much we can do about that. Response was apparently slow and lacking, planning perhaps the same. But in any case I doubt the mistakes that were made were made from malice or indifference, but more likely from pure human miscalculation and error.

On a more emotional note, what we are seeing each day is just so terribly sad. Like 9/11, it's another one of these events that we all though "couldn't happen here" but did. I am not sure why we Americans (myself included) always seem to feel like we are somehow insulated from these dire tragedies that affect thousands; perhaps it's because we just haven't experienced them, or because we always have the presumption that our money and resources can deal with and mute all the disasters that can cripple most nations. But in the face of nature, all of our power is really quite small.

I guess that's what I ultimately come away with from all of this. We all go about our daily lives, insulated by our gadgets, our cash, our suits and our jobs, as if the forces that affect everyone and everything else on the planet can't or won't touch us. Something like Hurricane Katrina forces us, if only momentarily, confront the reality of our own vulnerability. In such a short amount of time, all the trappings of civilization are quickly stripped away and we are left with just our own will to survive. In such an environment, we see the whole gamut of human morality...selflessness and depravity. Things like Katrina really strip us down to the essence of what we are; both good and evil. It just indicates to me how timeless the human condition is, that it never really changes essentially. Buidings, cell phones, internet, ATMs, automobiles, air conditioners, all gone before nature's wrath in the blink of an eye, and all that is left is people trying to survive. It makes you realize that in a larger sense, that is really all we ever have; other people. All the fleeting joy and comfort that technology and "civilization" bring can never truly be counted on. They are just men's constructs, not men.

I truly hope that the people who were affected by Katrina, the tens of thousands of them, can somehow patch their lives back together and retain their dignity in doing so. I hope that as we all move through this process of shock and grieving and trying to rebuild, we remember the things in our lives that are lasting and meaningful and those that are temporary. I hope that it makes us think about what we could leave behind in a disaster and what we couldn't.

Peace to all