Katrina brought out good, bad and shameful

By DAVID EPPS
Contributing Writer

The recent disaster in the Gulf Coast in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina has revealed the good, the bad, and the shameful in people. As in the phenomenon preceding a tsunami, the “waters have pulled back” and the hearts underneath have, for good or ill, been exposed.

While there are tens of thousands of examples of the “good” that has been exposed, one incident comes to mind. In New Orleans, a hospital was evacuated — mostly. Some patients too ill to be moved were left behind with the medical personnel who volunteered to stay with them. Of course the carnage was much worse than expected and the hospital lost fresh water, access to escape, and electrical power. Accounts have emerged of hospital workers staying awake all night to fan the patients with pieces of cardboard in the oppressive humidity and 107-degree temperatures. Others manually fed oxygen to critically ill patients by hand for hours on end. If these medical people were soldiers in a combat zone, they would be given medals for valor. Then there are the hundreds of citizens — some with official agencies, some not — who by boat and helicopter have plucked over ten thousand victims from rooftops and raging waters, sometimes at great risk to their own lives.

On the other hand, there were the bad.  Hundreds of people, who probably considered themselves good citizens, became criminals when the opportunity afforded itself. It’s one thing to be hungry and steal food for the survival of one’s family. It’s quite another to cart television sets and other electronic equipment back to one’s home after smashing in the windows of boarded-up department stores. The scene in New Orleans reminded the television viewers of a massive school of piranha attacking and slashing at will. Others obtained firearms and shot at helicopters that were attempting to rescue stranded victims. Still others took the opportunity to terrorize, rape, and pillage.

And there was the shameful. Some businesses took the opportunity to pretend to be the good guys while lining their pockets. One major banking chain advertised that, for six months, it was suspending payments of any loan from people in the hurricane afflicted region. The ad sounded good until the disclaimer at the end revealed that interest would continue to accrue during the six-month period. The only favor being extended was to the bank itself, since those who owed money would wind up even more in debt as a result of the bank’s “generosity.” A heating and air conditioning business announced that it was giving $100 in disaster relief for each system purchased. The last time I bought a central air conditioning unit over six years ago, it cost me $5,500. The gift of $100 in exchange for thousands of dollars spent is pretty small potatoes, in my opinion. On the other hand, Lenox Financial Mortgage Corporation, whose regular radio ads advertise “no closing costs loans,” billed as the “biggest no-brainer in the history of Earth,” bought ads that simply and passionately asked the public to give to the American Red Cross. In the Red Cross ads, without advertising their own services, they asked people to support the victims of Katrina. It was, the ad said, “the biggest no-brainer in the history of humanity.”

Yet, the response throughout the nation has been extraordinary. While the rest of the world has virtually ignored our plight (even though we are the largest givers to others in the history of mankind), Americans, through charities, churches, and agencies, gave to Americans in unprecedented levels of generosity. And the giving continues as food, clothing, housing, and money continues to be contributed in massive amounts to those who have lost everything.

In our own church, donations of goods and money was sparked, not by a committee, but by Jessica Bell, a 17-year-old McIntosh High School senior who asked if the church could “do something” to help Katrina victims. Donations of money, food, and clothing have been and are being collected for distribution to victims directly or through another church or agency. All across the nation, people — some of them in poverty themselves — are giving their best and the needs are being met.

America has its problems as indicated by the greedy businesses, rioting thugs, and finger-pointing politicians. But America has its heroes too and the heroes who quietly serve, pray, help, and give to others number, not in the hundreds, but in the tens of millions. May God have mercy on the victims of Katrina and may God richly bless those who are struggling to bring relief and hope to their fellow human beings.