I saw the President of the United States of America giving a “special address” commemorating the one year anniversary of hurricane Katrina this week. As he stumbled through the pre-written speech that he didn’t even take the time to study, I wondered if he could possibly really believe what he was saying or if he wished that he did believe what he was saying. He found a way to dance around mentioning the words “Michael Brown,” “FEMA,” or “Superdome” directly and he brought his wife up there to talk about some arbitrary tax shelter, I mean foundation, that she formed to aide hurricane victims. I wondered if I was really watching MSNBC or a skit on Saturday Night Live because if this was reality it would be anything but funny!

How could a President say with a straight face, “We will stay until the job is done, and by working together, we will help our fellow citizens along the Gulf Coast write a new future of hope, justice, and opportunity for all,” when it is a year later and the job should have already been done! How could a President of the “greatest nation in the world” stand there and make excuses for overlooking Americans in need? How could a President “accept full responsibility” for the federal governments’ response, but ignore the responsibility to aggressively rebuild New Orleans? The bigger question…Why aren’t more Americans outraged!

I watched every news station exploit the people of New Orleans as the “hot” topic of the week. I listened to radio stations give a “where are they now” commentary on the people of New Orleans to increase the number of calls they received. I read various articles quoting the President of the United States, congressman and community “leaders” that all gave speeches because it was “the right thing to do” on the anniversary of hurricane Katrina. We are not suffering from global warming in America, we are dealing with a temperature change because of all the hot air that has been released from the mouths of idiots over the past year! Where is the real compassion? Where is the real assistance? Where is the real outrage? When are people going to address the “real” issues surrounding hurricane Katrina?

If it wasn’t for the Spike Lee special on HBO, many people would still have a “hold hands and sing together” approach to the “hot topic” of the week. How can we talk about Katrina in the past tense when it is still very much presently a problem? The very framework of our nation was exposed during this one event. We became the butt of national jokes, the joke of terrorists around the world, and more divided than we ever have been before in terms of the rich vs. the poor in our country through one event. Somewhere in the middle of all of the debates, fundraisers, and commentaries there has been little action to return the city back to its natural state. There are a couple of problems that I have with the so called “activist” for the victims rights.

Why did politicians utilize and exploit the people further to progress their own agendas? Katrina became the “hot” button next to Iraq for white politicians to use to appeal to black voters and black politicians to use to show they were “down for the cause.” Why did these so called self proclaimed leaders spend so much time on race and so little time on action? I am all for black leaders and all leaders fighting for the rights of African American people, but in that fight don’t lose sight of others that are hurting. Hurricane Katrina was not just racial…if it were this would be so much easier to figure out.

The evangelicals equally should have been called the evan-hell-acals during this time. They talked about the evil New Orleans from their pulpits, but showed little love from their pocket books. Some of them in the African American community used it as a ploy to fight for racial issues even-though it was much deeper than a racial problem. These “Rev.” talking heads need to stick to their day jobs if they are not going to live up to their Biblical mandate to fight for all suffering even when it seems like the majority are of one race. If I see one more worn out civil rights leader and preacher with a perm standing on a corner protesting with tv cameras behind them, I don’t know what I am going to do! Many “Christians” chose to argue the rhetoric of evil instead of open the arms of love. Most preachers of all denominations spent so much time denouncing the evil, that they forgot to open their doors to the people of New Orleans. The last thing you want to hear when you lost everything is “you were evil.” If they would take time to read the bible that they supposedly live by, they would understand that all things “rain on the unjust and the good.” None of these arguments are the real issue, they are divisive, condemning and they take focus off of the real issue…VICTIMS OF KATRINA NEED HELP! Where is the outrage?

I am going to point out in a series of blog entries several “hidden” issues that were somehow lost in the cracks of the Katrina debate. I am going to read between the lines for you and allow you to make your own conclusions about what is really going on with the Katrina problem in America. It has moved from a natural disaster to a serious problem in America. It is not my goal to offend, although some may get offended. It is my goal to bring important issues to the forefront so more people will be informed. I want to ask the question that my friend Duane and I asked when we were discussing the topic…why aren’t more people outraged?

To every person that opened their doors, their wallets, and their hearts to help the victims of hurricane Katrina–I salute you! To every church that feed them naturally and loved them spiritually–I salute you! To every organization and volunteer that provided services to give them hope–thank you! But to every person that made promises that were not kept, ignored people on rooftops, and made excuses to ignore valuable Americans…I am writing this blog just for you! I am going to mobilize outrage that will hopefully turn to compassion and more action!

to be continued……