I feel like I should write something profound (or at least, profound by my standards) about the hurricane that is bringing so much misery to several Southern states. Trouble is, I find it just so horrifying and sad that…well, I can't even muster a snotty comment about those reporters who think they have to stand outside and seemingly brave death in order to cover the story. Maybe the simple truth is that there's nothing to say; that an event like this puts us all on the same page and there's little anyone can write that everyone else isn't already feeling.
I've never been to Louisiana or Mississippi, and I can't think of anyone I really know who is likely in peril from Hurricane Katrina. Still, since I first heard the dire predictions, those folks down there haven't been far from my thoughts. All day yesterday and into the evening, I had to keep dragging my attention away from New Orleans and back to the silly world of a silly screenplay I'm trying to finish.
You tell yourself there's no point in tuning back in to CNN or Fox News (which for a time, seemed to be trying to outdo each other in apocalyptic forecasts) or The Weather Channel (which is where I finally settled). There's nothing, apart from donating money, you can do to help. (I send my cash to a small charity called Operation USA, which has a great track record of getting food and supplies quickly and directly to the people who most need aid.)
Still, you can't pretend that it hasn't happened…that it isn't still happening. Right this moment, a large part of this country is being destroyed…and the thought I keep coming back to is this: I wish we weren't in Iraq.
That is not a political, anti-Bush wish. Even those who believe the war there is necessary wish it was not necessary. Our country is spending an awful lot of American lives and American money over there and will spend a lot more of both to rebuild that country. Wouldn't it be wonderful if all those National Guardsmen and all those dollars were available to help rebuild The French Quarter?