As far removed as I am, I can’t shake from my mind the images of devastation in the Gulf states. Cities completely laid to waste, chaos and violence in flooded urban streets, a mass exodus of average Americans turned into refugees- scenes that have filled the television since Hurricane Katrina seem almost too fantastic to believe.
Though the circumstances are completely different, the tragedy following Katrina bears an eerie resemblance to that of 9/11, not to mention that the hurricane struck nearly four years to the date of the attacks. I can’t stop wondering what Katrina’s repercussions are going to be, similar to the way 9/11 has had repercussions that have permeated in America to this day.
Like 9/11, Katrina has left us with an endless array of unanswered questions. A lot of people are demanding to know-what delayed the response effort to such a degree? Isn’t America the richest, most mobile country on earth? Where will all the evacuees go, and what will they do when they get there? And while it might seem unimportant to ask-what’s going to happen to their pets? The more I think about it, the more I realize that every detail of these people’s lives has been altered.
Then there are broader considerations. What will a disaster of Katrina’s magnitude do to the economy? Surely the virtual vaporization of a major city would affect it somehow. Gas prices, for one thing, are out of control, more than $3.50 a gallon now in Richmond. What will be the breaking point?
Of course, it doesn’t seem right to analyze gas prices and such things when so many people are suffering-and only a few states away. It’s important to remember that food and necessary provisions are not the only things the evacuees are struggling to get their hands on; they have no homes, jobs or schools to return to.
Does the future hold anything hopeful for the afflicted Americans of the Gulf region? Now, at least, the answer lies ahead in the unknown. In the meantime, we can only continue asking questions and demand that those with answers give us the truth.
Tad Hethcoat may be reached at tadhethcoat@yahoo.com