Hurricanes Vs. Humanity

I haven't really blogged much about the hurricane, since the only way it has directly affected me is my two friends, one of which is safe and the other I still haven't heard from - and I admit, I'm getting a little worried.

I haven't made any real political outbursts about it in the way that others around the Liberal Blogosphere has. I'm unsure that raising the levees would have prevented this, but it's always possible. I, like many other Americans regardless of political affiliation, am sickened at the way the Federal Government has (not) handled this.

It took them four hours to convene a special session of Congress - on a Sunday - over Terry Schiavo. It took them four days during a normal work week to convene one for hurricane aid. Republicans and Democrats alike, it took them four days.

But one thing I have noticed is the way people are coming together to help. New Orleans has become like a third-world country. There's corpses everywhere, armed gangs looting and raping, and tens of thousands without food. But all over the Internet and everywhere I've been in the Seattle area, there are relief stations set up for donations. We know it's bad and its getting badder, but as I sit here organizing my company's relief auctions, I can't help but think that Americans - despite the fact that the tax money we paid is being pissed away on bullshit rather than something like this - are still helping each other out. We're donating what we can.

In a way, it's a giant middle finger pointed squarely at Washington, DC. And the message is this:

"Dear Politicos. You may be squandering our money on your pork. That's OK. We'll remember that. But for now, we're showing you that we're better than you are. If you're not going to help us, we're going to help ourselves."

And in a way, that sense of united-ness gives me a warm fuzzy in a way that not many things do.