I see a glimmer of hope in the midst of this mess.

[davsand]

There’s a glimmer of hope in the midst of the stinking deadly swamp that used to be New Orleans. It is there and I don’t think there is anything that can be done to extinguish it.

I talk to people. I spend a LOT of time talking to the average taxpayers that pay my salary. I’m hearing, first hand, a newly emergent anger in these taxpayers. They may not be thrilled with property taxes locally, but they are massively upset with the federal government and how it has responded to Katrina and her damage.

Without exception, every taxpayer I have had thru my office in the last few days has mentioned New Orleans and the Gulf Coast. EVERY one of those taxpayers has talked about the suffering and pain they see happening right now in our country. EVERY one has been mad that our country has not done MORE to help.

I had a small farmer yesterday talk about the fact that he’s ex-military and he knows damn well they could do more to get people out of that city and get more supplies in there. He looked me dead in the eye and said, “I flew a Huey in Viet Nam, and if they’ll lend me one I’ll be happy to fly stuff into New Orleans right now.” He also asked me if I thought the lack of response was due to the race of most of the New Orleans residents.

One guy works in a factory owned by a major multi-national corporation. He told me about grabbing the CEO while he was touring the local plant and getting in his face about the lack of corporate response to Katrina. He suggested that if the company was too cheap to do it maybe they could at least start up a payroll deduction thing so the employees could contribute to flood relief. The corporation has now told the employee they will do a fund match for whatever the employees can raise.

One woman runs a B&B locally and she told me about posting on a couple of online boards that she’s got room for three families that need help, plus a furnished apartment, that they can stay for free as long as they need to.

Every one of the taxpayers in my little slice of the world has at least talked about the fact that there are people who need help, and every one of them has been very open that they feel our government let New Orleans down. Without exception, I see Americans that are unhappy that fellow Americans are suffering and they want to do something to help. I have never seen so much cold and directed anger.

I have long felt that Americans are, essentially, good people. They might be a little too sleepy for my taste sometimes, but I have never thought America was made up of bad people. Yeah, there are a few assholes but the American ethos is that of a good bunch of folks who are slow to get angry but lord help anybody that messes with them. Americas are inventive, they are passionate and they are equally fierce in enmity and loyalty.

Right now, they are mad as hell at what they see going on down south. The light has turned on. Bad as Katrina has been, it may have been enough to wake this country up. I actually feel some hope.



Laura

[Birthmark]

1. Yup.

The right-wing reign of money and corruption is over. It blew away Sunday and drowned early Monday. Any Democrats who don't realize that had better be prepared for a private sector job.

Katrina changes everything. People now remember what is important. And it ain't what the corporations have been telling them.

[checks-n-balances]

14. I certainly hope so. Something good has got to come out of this tragedy.

[SmokingJacket]

2. Thanks for this post.

Confirms my gut feelings -- I hope things are changing now...

[raccoon]

6. Ditto. nt

[earth mom]

3. The silver lining...

Thanks for the excellent thread-Nominated! :)

[Hello_Kitty]

4. Thank you for that.

One positive that has come out of this for me is that it's renewed my motivation to get out there and canvass my precinct to get these puke asses thrown out of local offices, where they currently have a stranglehold majority.

Kick and nominated. :kick:

[davsand]

5. I think the next election will be one of backlash.

I think it will be a bad time to be an incumbent regardless of party.

I do think the GOP will take the biggest hits, but Dems need to step up NOW to avoid getting hit with that same anger.


Laura

[OneGrassRoot]

9. Yes, thank you...........

I had to get away from everything for a few hours....was feeling hopeless about America. Your post is my first, and I have hope once again.

[MissWaverly]

7. I am here in Baltimore, which is almost a sister city of New Orleans

We were hit by a category 2 storm 2 years ago which caused major damage.
Baltimore is about 65% minority population with much of the population
in rowhouses. I hate to think what would happen if we were hit by
a Category 4 storm. My city is a good city of caring neighborhoods, I
would hate to think that it would go belly up waiting for the Great Oz
to respond but it could happen. I have given to Food Buckets to help the people hit by the storm, I believe that our money and resources are being drained by a small minority in government for their own objectives which do not coincide with the best interests of the American people, we have the energy and the resources to make this country work again.

[icymist]

8. I heard a lot of the 'Racist' word at work.

I work in a nursing home in Seattle, Washington and the people I work with are from all around the world! In my opinion, the whole world thinks America is racist.

[SammyWinstonJack]

10. The very best of America. And that's not you George!

:woohoo:

[davsand]

16. The people *are* what is right in the US.

I honestly think our nation will endure. Our people (not the leadership, mind you) are strong and much kinder and smarter than we are led to think sometimes.

I have fallen into that same mindset that I see so often that says "culture war" or race war or civil war is coming. It really feels like it some days with all the division in this nation. What I had forgotten until this week is that the US really IS a sleeping giant. It takes an awful lot to wake us up, but once we are aroused it is something to see.

Our heroes in the last few years have not always been the real ones. They have been the ones that the media trotted out for us to see. Frequently they were generated by PR forces and their impact passed all too quickly. We have all forgotten the unsung heroes here in our country.

We have forgotten the guys who flew the Hueys in Viet Nam that are willing to climb back in them again just to help fellow Americans who are suffering. We have forgotten the guy that confronts the CEO of his company and tells him it is a matter of life and death that they do something about helping the victims of the hurricane. We have forgotten all the people who are willing to open their hearts and homes to fellow Americans who are in need...

Keep the faith!



Laura

[OneBlueSky]

11. I don't think is so much an American response as it is a human response

watching the devastation on television, we intuitively understand that what is being done to those poor people in New Orleans is, quite literally, being done to all of us . . .

at some very primal level we all realize that we are all part of the same human race, and that what happens to one quite literally happens to all . . . regardless of our prejudices, in our deepest hearts we all KNOW that these are quite literally OUR brothers, OUR sisters, OUR mothers, fathers, children, babies, aunts, uncles, neices and nephews who are suffering . . . THEY are US . . . and we're feeling it at a gut level in a way that almost never happens these days . . . even most right wing commentators are feeling this deeply, and responding accordingly . . .

when this is all over, let us hope that our interdependence becomes acknowledged and celebrated as the foundation of our existance on the planet that it truly is . . .

[kimchi]

15. Thanks for the inspiration, Davsand.

And thank you, OneBlueSky for your beautifully expressed vision of Namaste.

[Eloriel]

12. Beautiful, hopeful post. Thank you. NOMINATED and a kick

:kick:

[Spazito]

13. Wonderful, hopeful, beautiful post!

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