It's Time To Act

Like everyone else, I've been watching the accounts of Hurricane Katrina on the news as well as the blogs. People have had a lot to say on the subject, not much of it good. I agree that the way the situation was initially handled by the government was inexcusable. Better could have, and should have been done. These "refugees," as they have been referred, aren't some Third World escapees seeking asylum in this country. They are AMERICANS! And they should have been treated better.

AP Photo/Karl Merton Ferron

As much as I don't want to take it there, it's hard not to whip out the race card on this one. In light of how quickly the government responded to other recent tragedies, both here and abroad, it's not hard to wonder what took them so long here. It's just painfully, and sickeningly, obvious.

Photo by Susan Poag

Others have expressed their ire over this much more eloquently than I can, so I won't belabor the point. (See Crystal's blog, and a clip of Kanye West I swiped off of Ryanne's blog.) All I'll say is that it is about the people first. It's on us now as fellow Americans, and particularly African Americans, to take care of our brothers and sisters down there. It's about doing what we can with whatever we can to help them get their lives back. This is our family, people. Enough talk. Let's dry our tears, roll up our sleeves, and work together to fix this mess.