I have been under the weather literally and figuratively for the last week, but today I am finally starting to see the sunshine. I haven’t felt much like writing and haven’t felt I had anything to say in view of the immense disaster this country was going through.
Today I think I am finally ready/able to write some words and reflections of the past week.
Like all of you, I was very overwhelmed as I continuously watched the scenario unfold. I went from ‘phsew’ they made it safe through the storm, to what! flooded!, oh no…to disbelief and mounting anger when the many monumental blunders of the whole relief effort were revealed to the eyes of the whole world.
Seemed to me like our Administration and government was stripped bare and the dirty little under belly of our current system was exposed for what it is. Here I still do not have words to describe how I feel about the system.
Pictures of the last week will long remain in my memory, but there were some images and scenes that struck me and touched my heart that I shall never forget.
The babies, I never saw such beautiful babies in my whole life and in such abundance, I wanted to hold and comfort each one of them as they swam into my view. I wanted to rush there and rescue them myself, hell, why couldn’t we get there I wondered, why couldn’t we drop food, why weren’t provisions and supplies placed in the shelters prior to the storm. Oh, I would have many questions as the weeks unfolded.
The children, I pictured my own there and knew how horrible it would be for them and my heart went out to them and the mothers, fathers and grandparents who had to witness this with their own children, rendered powerless to help, fix or change one damn thing. The only thing they could do was try to give love and comforting, not a little thing, but certainly not what they wished to do I am sure.
The children who could probably not comprehend what fate had befallen them, who were robbed forever of their childhood, I wanted to gather all in my arms and comfort them.
The elderly, and here I placed myself, what would it have been like for me sitting in the hot sun, sick with shingles, asthma, and god knows what else and perhaps to see my last days in the midst of thousands of suffering people. I don’t know how long I would have held up and wonder how they did, how any did. To die like that, sometimes alone and away from any dear family members, not the death I would ever imagine for myself, but now know it can happen to any one of us.
The parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles who had to stand by and watch their children suffer and die and feel totally helpless to change one whit, one iota. How did they find the strength to go on.
The heroic people who rescued all those thousands of roof top and trapped victims, shall be forever etched in my mind. I watched with trepidation each rescue and rejoiced when they were finally safe in the helicopters. All the while anger and disgust building in me at the lack of the full force of our abilities being applied to this most desperate of situations.
The shelters that were immediately set up and fine tuned will forever stand in my mind as a beautiful example of what individual citizens and small groups of people can and do accomplish with an ease unknown to our vast and inept governmental system.
There are too many memories to count these days and I haven’t sorted them all out in my mind, but I know this, I shall never forget these days, and I shall never stop working to hold accountable all those involved in the absolute gross mismanagement of everything the government touched.
The strength of the people, our people our citizens has shone through it all and I will be forever proud of all the good and generous people who did aid and comfort all the homeless and afflicted. I know this country will survive because of that strength, the will to survive and to help.
What about you, how and why were you touched and angered in the last week, what thoughts have stuck with you and roamed around in your brain for days. What images will you never forget, what touched your heart?
(Cross posted on Village Blue.)
(The beautiful picture above is a ‘Josephine Wall’ and her gallery can be found here. Artist; Josephine Wall, web site here!)
Beautifully written Diane, and certainly expresses well what I experienced, although I probably watched a good deal less of it than most of you. I did what I could do to help, just as most of us here at Booman have. Of course the desire to do so much more lingers on.
Thanks for sharing this with us.
Thanks Diane
I didn’t watch much TV last week and none over the holiday weekend. Pictures on websites and stories on blogs, as well as news reports on the radio were my primary source of information.
-There has been an overwhelming sense of helplessness and frustration.
-Never in my life have I been so ashamed to be an American.
-Never have I been so proud of my fellow citizens at the same time.
-This is not the government that I believed in over the past 50 years.
-These are the neighbors that are across the street and down the block.
My outrage level is broken at the overload level…
My trust in the U.S. government is also beyond repair at this point – at least for a long time to come.
Thanks for the diary – it sums up what so many of us feel.
great diary, and very well presented to the emotions of the survivors.
You always find a way to bring out the light, in the shadows, many thanks….KUDOS
As for the anger, we must all use it to make our wind of change, that much stronger.
We must not forget…
peace be with you and yours always
Thanks Diane.
One word sums up last week for me up until the survivors began being evacuated: anxiety.
I practically held my breath until Friday morning, screaming inside at the horror I saw on my TV screen – people begging so desperately for help. It was just absolutely unbelievable that they were left so helpless. I watched CNN constantly and I couldn’t turn away from those scenes. I wanted to reach into the TV and pluck them off the rooftops, pick them up from the Superdome and Convention Centre. I wanted to throw things at my TV whenever I saw government officials making promises. Outrage. Deep, deep outrage. And the sadness was overwhelming.
On Friday morning, I took some breaths as I saw the troops finally moving into NO. Finally. It was a turning point, I thought. However, when I saw the governmental incompetence continue, I still wanted to scream. I still do. I simply cannot believe the inhumanity of those in power. I’ve seen it before – we all have – but I never dreamed it could be expressed on such a huge scale. Complete indifference. People starving and dying while powermongers parroted their excuses. It’s just too much.
I hung on tightly to every report by Anderson Cooper because I knew he spoke the absolute truth. He still does. He’s still there and refuses to leave. The man deserves a medal. He’s one of my new heroes.
I still ache for all of the survivors as they still have to deal with government bullshit as they try to get their lives together. I ache for the survivors who still haven’t been found by the search and rescue teams. Can you even imagine how they’ve suffered? I ache for the moms and dads still separated from their kids – their babies. And, for all of those who are now so alone even though they now exist in the midst of thousands of strangers. The pain must be enormous.
If I had my way, every single American would have been forced to stop their lives and watch all of those reports 24/7 last week so they could know exactly what was going on. Too many don’t understand. Too many don’t even want to, as they think things are fine now. They’re not and they won’t be for a very, very long time.
This is all just too much, but I will not turn away. I can’t. I can barely get anything done in my life right now between dealing with my pain and wanting to know more and more about what’s happening, but that’s okay. I’m doing what I need to do because I cannot turn away from such massive human suffering.
I could go on…and I will in my diaries…but that’s what I wanted to share with you right now. It just hurts.
Thanks Catnip for your words…Have you noticed btw that Scarborough is now on the bandwagon, or rather has been since the beginning of the disaster…plus Tony Perkins of all people was just scathing last night with his report of churches are not getting any help at all from Fema, does that surprise anyone, the fema part I mean.
And then our boy Cooper reports that everyone down there is changed by this event as we all are everywhere.
I was able for the first time today to watch regular tv, but just for a bit and soon I was back on cable news.
Hope also that you and others noticed the comment I made in the cafe, reg. cspan, try to catch it in repeats, Ron Paul a Republican rep. from Texas was just attacking the whole admin. congress, etc. reg. the war in Iraq, he gave an hour speech today. He called for immediate end to the war, all withdrawal of troops from foreign bases, stop all work on embassy and bases in Iraq and on and on. We could have written his speech it was so right on.
I had on June 12th as my sig line ‘times they are a changin” and boy are they ever now, keep the faith, keep the hope, it will be done. I am not sure what happened that day, but for some reason I just knew that Bush was going down. My private estimate is before the end of the year. I know that sounds soon right now, but steam is building in congress and it just might happen. I will be happy to push that along in whatever way I can.
Thanks to you and to all our canadian friends for your continued support.
We all need to stay strong and unforgiving to the powers that be, in this whole mess.
I don’t get Scarborough, so I don’t know much about him. Ron Paul is a regular contributor at antiwar.com and he has been criticizing this admin for a very long time. He’s written some very good articles there.
I heard yesterday that my province is donating $5 million to the former presidents’ fund. Good to know, We’ve also increased our output of oil, but I don;t know how much of an impact that might have. Every little bit counts, I suppose.
I hope you’re feeling much better real soon! hugs
And hugs right back at you, in fact hugs all around for all boo tribbers. We shall stand shoulder to shoulder.
I am feeling much better, but it sure is hard taking 5 of these dang pills a day, when I can barely eat. But then when you think of all these folks in the south have gone through/will go through, it is really nothing.
I hope you are well also and do take care of yourself.