Spike, seriously?!

Good People of the Internet, I'm back! With something heavy on my chest. Tonight, I watched Spike Lee's documentary, "When The Levees Broke" in its four hour entirety For those of you that are unfamiliar, the work is a "requiem in four acts" produced specifically for HBO that chronicles the impact of Hurricane Katrina (and a host of related issues) on New Orleans. Tonight, for 240 minutes, I faced something that I've found myself subconsciously running from for an entire year. This disaster, more than any other that has made headlines during my lifetime, has been one marked by politics, racial tension and a continuous onslaught of national and international commentary. And I was frightened of it. Well maybe I'm being hasty. I think I may be getting fright and frustration confused...

In the days and weeks following the strike of the hurricane, the media frenzy was at its apex. Every show on every network had helicopter shots, interviews, live broadcasts and the like around the area. The victims needed help, and were willing to do anything necessary to survive. Media outlets thrive on this sense of urgency and quick to scoop it up. With so many stories, statistics and reports of body counts, one can become lost or even desensitized to new information. When the hype starts to die, and other stories take precedence, it's like a breath of fresh air. Then the political crap started to fly and once again, I turned a less than attentive ear. I'll revisit this...

Spike Lee's work is nothing less than remarkable. Having been involved with video capture, editing and post production, I know that he and his crew must have suffered many tough, emotionally devastating days trying to bring this story to the public. His work (and by "his" I mean he and his crew) is not in vain. The story he tells is one that made my fellow viewers and I run the gambit of emotions several times over. Anger, anguish, disbelief, uplifted, utterly miserable, you name it, I visited there tonight.

Brass tacks:
Okay I don't want to be overly long winded here and I don't want to infringe too much for those of you that have yet to see the film. So... About this political stuff.

Ray Nagin. Mayor of New Orleans. This guy seems to be one of the most courageous suns of a gun. The aren't many times in history when mayoral leadership has been pushed to extremes that this man has seen during the last year and change. He has been challenged, tested, ridiculed, and much more yet he continues to fight to this day for the municipality under his charge with the zeal of man whose own home has been breached by vandals. He said what had to be said, and acted as he did to get his citizens the help they so desperately needed. It seems as though it is only now starting to come.

US Government and F.E.M.A. To you I say WTF?! Why the passing of the proverbial buck? Why the song and dance? Why sit on your thumbs with them up you know where? There were lives piled (not hanging) in the balance. According to what I saw tonight before anyone amade it out of the SuperDome, there were close to 40,000 people in place with no running water after a time. And our precious government, proclaims for 5 days that they were unaware of the situation! Those of you that know me know that I am not politically inclined but this situation begs to spoken to. How did this happen? How do you have any aggregation of people that large directly after a major hurricane has hit the area and not understand the depth of the situation? If Osama was smart? He probably could've hidden in the superdome for a few days just to rub it in. (cheap shot but I had to take it...)

Last Item I want to talk about is the evacuation.
So after the government finally got some help down there things really went berserk. Let me set the scene. You are a senior citizen. By the grace of the creator, you've survived long enough to see a bus take you off. Or you can catch a plane. You don't know where it's going and you're no longer with the family and friends you rode through the storm with. They're in same predicament but headed somewhere completely different. You pull in to you destination. San Antonio. Your daughter and grandkids are in Utah, and your son is in Baton Rouge. This story and ones similar to it are played over and over hundreds of thousands of times. The part that really struck me was the use of the word refugee.

Refugee: somebody who is seeking or taking refuge, especially from war or persecution, by going to a foreign country
This is definition from encarta online. Not only are these unfortunate folks displaced across this great land, they're named as though they aren't even apart of it. Most of these people were tax paying American citizens, 3, 4,5 or more generations deep. Think about that.

To those of you who suffered and are still suffering through this life altering ordeal, I'm sorry. Sorry I didn't act with more conviction or caring. Sorry that I ran from you in a time of great despair. Sorry that we as a nation could not aid you with the speed and resources required to save more lives. Sorry I didn't pray for you more. The last one I can fix.

Dear god,
Please bless the victims, families of victims and all of those affected by this mighty act of your doing. If it is your will please reunite the broken families and heal those that can be healed. Help them to realize their potential in their new and unexpected lives. Give them the strength to press on in the dark hours to come and let them stay focused on what you have in store for them. Amen.

Thanks for reading.
-truth

fanfare for the common man...

Good people of the internet, I bring you greetings from the illadelph. I have a ton of great ideas for blogs that i have to write but i simply haven't had the time. But i thought that it was important for me to take a lil time away from my cramming to inform all of you that tomorrow, Tuesday, august 15, 2006 is my last day as an undergraduate student. That right people. No more classes, early late or otherwise. It marks the end of finals, midterms, juries and quizzes. There are no more reading assignments, whack projects, papers or group work. I am rapidly approaching the rest of my life and i must say it feels pretty freakin' amazing. My time at Temple University has been fabulous. I have learned, loved, conquered, been conquered, and built legacies but the time has finally come for me to move onward and upward.

To all of you who have shown me ropes, tricks of the trade, hot lunch trucks, the best time to catch dean yamron, etc, I thank you for your encouragement and inspiration. To those of you i leave behind in the hallowed halls of the Presser building, keep it together your time will soon come. To the faculty and staff that have put up with my antics, silly questions, sarcasm and wrong and/or loud notes, thanks for your help and guidance and in many cases friendship. With any luck, I'll see you on the bandstand. Thanks to my friends in and out of school for the words of encouragement and love. They mean a lot too me and have helped to get me through. THANKS TO MY FAMILY. I HAVE TO WRITE THIS IN CAPS BECAUSE WITHOUT THEM I WOULD HAVE NEVER EVER MADE IT THIS FAR. I LOVE YOU GUYS. And i absolutely must thank god. over the past four years i been places and seen things i would have never thought possible. I have been in some places that could have been potentially dangerous. and i have been blessed immensely. These things would not have turned out the way they have without His grace and mercy. The older i get the more i appreciate the way He moves in my life.

I have to return to studying (if i don't do well on the final tomorrow this whole entry will be in vain...). So let me just leave you with this thought: Keep your head high, your eyes and ears open. Protect your heart but don't disable it. Keep the faith, keep the peace, and keep grooving. So long temple U. I'll see you at the reunion.

Thanks for reading.
-truth, Temple University Class of '06