GET YOUR HAPPY ON! - a meliorist worldview

If these June floods are just the beginning of what many believe will be a turbulent climate year, I wonder what is going to happen next? It is sad to see our neighbors robbed of their homes, and one hates to think of more devastation. At the same time, more destruction seems likely.

According to Michael Chertoff (the head of Homeland Security), this is just the beginning of the disaster season. He praised the nation’s relief efforts for being able to help those in need, and then he compared this month’s flooding to Katrina, which was a much more destructive event.  And if the disasters continue, it looks like the Red Cross won’t be able to provide any relief, since its organization is nearing bankruptcy.

It looks like China is experiencing the worst flooding in the world right now — as if China hasn’t had enough of its own problems this year. (I hate say it, but maybe Sharon Stone was right. You always get what you pay for.)

Almost the entire state of Iowa is a disaster area due to flooding from the area rivers. The scope of it is almost to great to imagine. Fortunately, you don’t have to imagine it — just turn on your TV.

I remember watching the aftermath of Katrina on TV. It was awful thousands of people were put out of their homes and lost everything they had. I couldn’t believe that I was looking at footage shot in the U.S. I remember thinking, This is what George Bush has done to America; he’s managed to turn my country into a Third World nation.

You might think, dear reader, that I am overreacting, but how many weeks did it take George Bush to react and go down to Louisiana? At what point, did George Bush decide he was obliged to offer what little consolation he could to Katrina’s victims? It doesn’t matter; the answer is “too long.” George Bush’s administration has been fraught with too many miscalculations and missteps. Frankly, this country doesn’t need another George Bush.

Two weeks after Katrina, some friends and I drove a truck full of donated clothes and sanitary necessities to Jackson, Mississippi. We didn’t wait until someone told us we had to go. My conscience was the only guide I needed, and it should be the only guide anyone needs in life or in politics.

Be good to yourselves, my friends. Be good to yourself by taking care of others. Think about it. Love is a gift that keeps on giving.

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