caseyphillips.net

I've been thinking a lot about, as I'm sure most of you have, the people of Louisianna and Mississippi this past week. I can sit and complain about the exorbitant gas prices, but at least I have a car to put gas in and a garage to park my car in. I can hardly watch television or read the news because the scenes of the once bustling city of New Orleans that now looks like a 3rd world nation. The death toll is already unthinkable, and will get worse as the days go by. I cannot imagine how the people that have been relocated far from their home, possibly forever, must be feeling. As I was enjoying my labor day weekend, thousands of people find themselves suddenly homeless and in unfamiliar cities. Many have lost contact with friends or family, not knowing if they are alive or dead.

We can't blame terrorists this time. Some have pointed fingers at state and federal governments for how the rescue efforts were handled, and perhaps there is some blame there, but ultimately there isn't anybody responsible for the event itself. We can't threaten to retaliate, because there is nobody to retaliate against. Whether it was God, mother nature, the earth, or whatever you want to give credit to for creating Katrina, there is nothing anybody can do to punish it. It's a bit of a helpless feeling, as it's human nature to lay blame. But blame won't bring back the dead or rebuild cities.

The best any of us can do is to help the victims in any way we can, whether that be prayer, donating money, physically volunteering, or perhaps offering space for evacuees to stay.