Trying Times for the Big Easy

[euterpe5]

I still cannot comprehend the magnitude of the destruction in The Gulf. It's surreal, like we are back watching pictures from the Tsunami. Nightmarish deja-vu. And a disaster that should be bringing out the best in everyone has spawned a disregard for the dead and a lawlessness that I thought I'd seen the last of during the Detroit Riots so very, very long ago. Is this who we are, is this what we are? Animalistic to the point where rescue workers can't even help? Is it because these people are poor and disenfranchised or is it because they are people and this is what human beings become when deprived of basic needs? Does basic deprivation so quickly turn us into savages?

The city will undoubtedly be rebuilt--people are amazingly resilient. We will organize a drive at school and all the children and teachers will contribute something, but I sincerely wonder what is truly at our core.
Nia