Where Were You?

That's the question of the week. For those who didn't migrate here from Marshall Ramsey's website, he's posted a gallery of some of his Katrina drawings and cartoons here. It's no wonder he keeps being a Pulitzer finalist. Some of these cartoons were in his last Pulitzer portfolio. He's also posted a lot of links to recent Katrina stories on his blog, so check that out if you want. The link is on the right.

A few weeks ago I was listening to the radio in the car and it hit me that if you change about 3 words in the lyrics to Allan Jackson's "Where Were You (When the World Stopped Turning) that song could have been about Katrina for those in the coastal states. Just change "September" to "August" and "black smoke" to "storm clouds." My favorite part of that song is when he quotes the Bible:

"Peace, hope and love are some good things He gave us
And the greatest is love."

Amen. It was the love of strangers and the love of Christ that started putting victims back on their feet. I know people who aren't from here are probably a little tired of hearing about Katrina. They have their own distasters to worry about. But it's good to remember, and to see where we've made progress. And where we haven't. There's a lot of work left to do, a lot of people who still don't know what's next for them. But thanks in large part to the flood of volunteers, from churches and schools and organizations all over the country, we've seen more progress than we thought we would. That's a lesson that needs to be applied to the aftermath of tornados and forrest fires and floods and man-made disasters all over the country.

After Katrina we saw what this country was capable of - immeasurable amounts of generosity and love and compassion. That's quite a change from the mindset of "the government will come in and make it right." There's only so much the government can do, if they ever get around to it. It's up to individuals willing to sacrifice a little time, money, and effort to help pick up the pieces of other people's lives. And on behalf of those who benefited from that help, we say thank you to every single person who made a trip to the Coast to lend a hand. Nobody should ever have to go through this alone, and thanks to the volunteers, many of our victims didn't.

I'll probably post my "where were you" later. Not because it's dramatic or exciting, because it's not. But it's what we do. We remember. And through remembering we keep some of that love and a few extra prayers flowing. For a sample of what Katrina left behind, check out Super Mom's blog.