According to my father, who lived through it, it took 10 days for the National Guard to set up shop in the aftermath of Hurricane Andrew.

Funny.

I don't remember the vitriolic finger pointing and need to lay blame.

I remember the community coming together: banks letting employees sleep in the lobby until they found a home, ice companies handing out free product and newspapers reporting it all, awed by the power of community.

Yes, there was looting. I'm sure there was rape, murder and vile robbery as well ...but what did we remember the most about those times? I can't speak for everyone, but I remember reading and hearing about how my community encountered adversity and then rose above it: how we came together and beat the thing.

I wish we could do the same now. Maybe we will and I am just frustrated because in today's environment we have the internet to amplify every tragic nuance to a deafening volume. Quite frankly, it's one of the biggest reasons why I have not written in a couple of days. Sitting in front of the TV, the computer, I am just overwhelmed at the devastation and disgusted by the new operating rules of the Blame-O-Sphere.

Shut up, people.

Roll up your sleeves, let's do the work, and from our newfound experience let's change the rules and make sure that we can respond to this better in the future. There isn't a single group that has not contributed to the failures and successes that we have and will experience here. All this blame is nothing but emotional distraction and deflection, and it isn't doing anything good for anyone.

Posted by Michael at September 2, 2005 11:29 AM

Posted by: Diana at September 2, 2005 06:47 PM