As blogs all over the country and probably the world are being written about the complete devastation Hurricane Katrina caused, I am glued to the television screen like countless other people.
We are grateful that because of the advances in television and media outlets, we can see these things as they are happening. But at the same time, we witness things that are more like we expect to see in third world countries. Refugees, pestilence, death and destruction, and right here in our living rooms it all sits while we feel helpless.
Right about the time we think that nothing can get worse, our screen shows us someone being rescued by the Coast Guard or a stranger helping another displaced soul walk through the flood waters to get to dry land. Suddenly there is a glimmer of hope that maybe the tunnel has a pinpoint of light after all.
In the past, before live news reports, we read of disasters in the morning paper or waited for Peter Jennings to tell us what was going on (if it was since the television era began). The newscasts lasted half an hour usually and we heard what happened. Then we forgot. Now it is 24 hours of live coverage and I don't see how anyone with a television wouldn't be totally overwhelmed with compassion.
We can send money but often we can't truly feel as if we are helping. Money that we give to a relief organization now will not be given to those faces with haunting and terrified eyes that we see on the television begging for food and water. We can't share the water we sit in our dry homes drinking while knowing there are tens of thousands of people who are very thirsty. That is when the frustration sets in.
That is not to say that we shouldn't donate money. We MUST! Donate as much money as possible and hope that somehow the immediate needs for food, water, and medical attention are somehow miraculously met.
There it all is, big as life on our television screens. It is a little too easy to armchair quarterback, but I find myself asking questions that can not be answered. It is a complete human disaster and I often wonder why media personnel walk along asking someone what they've seen or how they feel instead of dropping the microphone and giving a big bear hug. It's like they have lost everything in the world they own and someone is asking how they FEEL?!
It is like a war zone in three states and although many people and businesses want to help, there is no way into the affected areas at the moment. People are not even allowed to stay in New Orleans and our televisions show them gathering, walking, praying, and crying. In addition to all the lives lost, there are unimaginable numbers of people who have lost everything except the clothes they are wearing.
After the terror attacks of September 11, 2001, I heard a psychologist recommend that people do not stay glued to the television constantly in times of such disasters. Considering the staggering number of post traumatic stress cases that will be occurring in the aftermath that may be a good suggestion.
That does not mean that we can or should forget the suffering and tears of our gulf state neighbors, but maybe we can take a break sometimes, do something with the family, and so on. Most importantly, we all have to do what we can to help. Whatever form that comes in, it is a good feeling to know that we did something.
