My Heart is broken
I am so sad watching this State of Emergency down in Lousiana and Mississippi. It's amazing. I have to admit, I never though tragedy on this scale, pure anarchy, would reach America's storm. Amazinly, this is worse than 911, an entire city has been leveled. It's going to be very bad when people wake up to realize that most of the people displaced were poor and black.
It's starting already. I've never seen this amount of compassion for anything that deals with poor people from the media and America. Now, the tide's changing, and I hope people will rise up and really help these folks down there. Just think that this could have happened to any city on the Gulf Coast. Think of all the other calamaties that could face some of our poorer cities. I'm also angry listening to how ineffective Bush's comments were, but I amazed at the bipartisan critique of his lack in leadership. Take Giuliani during 911, and how frank and honest he was about the tragedy. Where Bush says, "this is a temporary disruption," Giuliani, when faced with a similiar calamity said, "we don't know all that is happening, but this is a grave tragedy. we will pull through it, but it's going to be tough." It made you feel comforted to know that there was a leader who realized how real the tragedy does. Now, we have a leader who wants to focus more on his rational for Iraq than helping his first concern, these poor American citizens. I guess it makes sense because there is a lack in the National Guard forces who would help with some of the aid in New Orleans.
It's also sad because it shows what happens when poeple have nothing. How desperate folks can get when they are left with nothing, and some drastic event comes and just wipes everything away. I hate that when people talk of "distributing risks" (remember, I'm in Insurance, so we talk about risk all the time), proponents of an "Ownership Society" often mention that there is nothing in life a human being can't get herself out of if she applies grit and hard work. Well, unfortunately for their reality, for a society to exist, it can't be made of individuals, but a collection of people looking out for their own interests as well as the best interests of everyone else. With amount of lives, jobs and property that was lossed in New Orleans alone, I don't see how people can get their lives back together without help from other people, particularly those more fortunate than them.
Well enough of this. I'm going to donate some money to them. Here's a list of charities I picked off from the New York Times.
God Bless
Relief Organizations:
Charity Navigator: charitynavigator.org
Information on various charities and ways to donate to the relief effort.
Red Cross: 1-800-HELP-NOW or www.redcross.org
AmeriCares:americares.org
RoommateClick.com - Site offering a service for the New Orleans homeless, free of charge.
Baton Rouge Area Foundation(BRAF): 877.387.6126 or braf.org
Episcopal Relief & Development: 1-800-334-7626 or www.er-d.org
United Methodist Committee on Relief: 1-800-554-8583 or gbgm-umc.org/umcor/emergency/hurricanes/2005
Salvation Army: 1-800-SAL-ARMY or www.salvationarmyusa.org
Catholic Charities: 1-800-919-9338 or www.catholiccharitiesusa.org
FEMA Charity tips: www.fema.gov/rrr/help2.shtm
National Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster: www.nvoad.org
Louisiana Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals: www.la-spca.org
Operation Blessing: 1-800-436-6348 or www.ob.org
America's Second Harvest: 1-800-344-8070 or www.secondharvest.org
Adventist Community Services: 1-800-381-7171 or www.adventist.communityservices.org
Christian Disaster Response: 1-941-956-5183 or 1-941-551-9554 or www.cdresponse.org/cdrhome.html
Christian Reformed World Relief Committee: 1-800-848-5818 or www.crwrc.org
Church World Service: 1-800-297-1516 or www.churchworldservice.org
Convoy of Hope: 1-417-823-8998 or www.convoyofhope.org
Lutheran Disaster Response: 1-800-638-3522 or www.elca.org/disaster
Mennonite Disaster Service: 1-717-859-2210 or www.mds.mennonite.net
Nazarene Disaster Response: 1-888-256-5886 or www.nazarenedisasterresponse.org
Presbyterian Disaster Assistance: 1-800-872-3283 or www.pcusa.org/pda
Southern Baptist Convention - Disaster Relief: 1-800-462-8657, ext. 6440 or www.namb.net
It's starting already. I've never seen this amount of compassion for anything that deals with poor people from the media and America. Now, the tide's changing, and I hope people will rise up and really help these folks down there. Just think that this could have happened to any city on the Gulf Coast. Think of all the other calamaties that could face some of our poorer cities. I'm also angry listening to how ineffective Bush's comments were, but I amazed at the bipartisan critique of his lack in leadership. Take Giuliani during 911, and how frank and honest he was about the tragedy. Where Bush says, "this is a temporary disruption," Giuliani, when faced with a similiar calamity said, "we don't know all that is happening, but this is a grave tragedy. we will pull through it, but it's going to be tough." It made you feel comforted to know that there was a leader who realized how real the tragedy does. Now, we have a leader who wants to focus more on his rational for Iraq than helping his first concern, these poor American citizens. I guess it makes sense because there is a lack in the National Guard forces who would help with some of the aid in New Orleans.
It's also sad because it shows what happens when poeple have nothing. How desperate folks can get when they are left with nothing, and some drastic event comes and just wipes everything away. I hate that when people talk of "distributing risks" (remember, I'm in Insurance, so we talk about risk all the time), proponents of an "Ownership Society" often mention that there is nothing in life a human being can't get herself out of if she applies grit and hard work. Well, unfortunately for their reality, for a society to exist, it can't be made of individuals, but a collection of people looking out for their own interests as well as the best interests of everyone else. With amount of lives, jobs and property that was lossed in New Orleans alone, I don't see how people can get their lives back together without help from other people, particularly those more fortunate than them.
Well enough of this. I'm going to donate some money to them. Here's a list of charities I picked off from the New York Times.
God Bless
Relief Organizations:
Charity Navigator: charitynavigator.org
Information on various charities and ways to donate to the relief effort.
Red Cross: 1-800-HELP-NOW or www.redcross.org
AmeriCares:americares.org
RoommateClick.com - Site offering a service for the New Orleans homeless, free of charge.
Baton Rouge Area Foundation(BRAF): 877.387.6126 or braf.org
Episcopal Relief & Development: 1-800-334-7626 or www.er-d.org
United Methodist Committee on Relief: 1-800-554-8583 or gbgm-umc.org/umcor/emergency/hurricanes/2005
Salvation Army: 1-800-SAL-ARMY or www.salvationarmyusa.org
Catholic Charities: 1-800-919-9338 or www.catholiccharitiesusa.org
FEMA Charity tips: www.fema.gov/rrr/help2.shtm
National Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster: www.nvoad.org
Louisiana Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals: www.la-spca.org
Operation Blessing: 1-800-436-6348 or www.ob.org
America's Second Harvest: 1-800-344-8070 or www.secondharvest.org
Adventist Community Services: 1-800-381-7171 or www.adventist.communityservices.org
Christian Disaster Response: 1-941-956-5183 or 1-941-551-9554 or www.cdresponse.org/cdrhome.html
Christian Reformed World Relief Committee: 1-800-848-5818 or www.crwrc.org
Church World Service: 1-800-297-1516 or www.churchworldservice.org
Convoy of Hope: 1-417-823-8998 or www.convoyofhope.org
Lutheran Disaster Response: 1-800-638-3522 or www.elca.org/disaster
Mennonite Disaster Service: 1-717-859-2210 or www.mds.mennonite.net
Nazarene Disaster Response: 1-888-256-5886 or www.nazarenedisasterresponse.org
Presbyterian Disaster Assistance: 1-800-872-3283 or www.pcusa.org/pda
Southern Baptist Convention - Disaster Relief: 1-800-462-8657, ext. 6440 or www.namb.net
posted by Coolhand at 11:01 PM
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