Ok ya'll. So after all my crying and screaming and slight depression about what has happened in the N.O. these last few days, I am still faced with a huge decision of what I will do with school. I have worked extremely hard more than half my life focusing on getting into the best professional school for me. After some very difficult decision making..I finally chose the right one and life was perfect up until last Monday. I know decisions about school pale in comparison to the ridiculousness going on in our country right now, but school is and was the most important thing in my life next to my family and God. Needless to say, this has been the hardest life storm I have ever had to weather.
Below I have posted a letter I recently sent out that I never thought I would have to send to my family and friends. It's insight into what just one person (me) feels about the effects of this storm. After my letter is another letter from Michael Moore (Director of Bowling for Columbine and Farenheit 9/11) to President Bush:
Hi Everyone,
If I haven't talked you yet...I'm ok. No, I have not been back to my New Orleans apt. to get my things nor do I know what's gonna happen with school and my frustration is at an all time high.
I'm sickened by what is happening in my city and have never felt so helpless and ignored as I do now. My own federal gov't and partly my state gov't did not care enough to make every effort to plan for something inevitable like this. More than 30% of New Orleans is beneath the poverty level, yet they were expected to evacuate like everyone else with no help. Only a heartless idiot would think this population of people could evacuate on their own. I have gotten to safety and I still feel guilty about it because over 50,000 of my people were still there 4 days after the storm. They want "us" to look like animals to the "majority" population...and they got their wish. New Orleans now looks like Iraq. Yet, many Americans are dumb enough to believe only the poor would act like this and deserve this because they didn't leave when told. I wanna see how you would act if you were forced to remain in over 100 degree heat, no food, and no water for 4 days.
The gov't doesn't care enough to make those 50,000 people a priority...so they are dying. I guess that's what they wanted. My faith in the essential and basic need for our gov't is now gone. And that is a huge thing to me for those of you who know me. I guess dropping water and food the next day after the storm was just WAAAAAAY too much to ask. Excuses, excuses. Funny how Jesse Jackson can come all the way from ILL in a bus to rescue Xavier U. students FEMA forgot about, we can drop food in a day's time in Africa, we can fight Iraqi soldiers and protect their people in a day's time, reporters can freely get in and out, and Bush can fly over in a helicopter. Yet, every excuse in the book was given why it's taken 5 days for even a significant number of these people to be rescued. Amazing.
I have never hated anything or anyone with every cell in my body as I do our government right now. Their job is to be there when we need them, and they weren't. It's a slap in the face. The US is the biggest and baddest country? I am so not impressed. Please believe that Iraq is the priority. For that reason, virtually all of our soldiers were deployed to Iraq and money for our levee system was cut, therefore, New Orleans had less than 100 nat'l gaurds there to help the 50,000-70,000 people. Sad.
I'm off my soapbox now and thanks for listening. I honestly don't believe my faith will ever be restored and I will not be pursuing my lifelong dream career anymore that I have worked almost all my life for-truly working for "people" who need help, through the US government. I now see our gov't is pointless and is only here for certain people. It's one big system of intricate deceptions and lies. And trust me, I'm the most uncynical person you will ever meet...yet these are now my feelings. Here's a letter from Michael Moore:
Friday, September 2nd, 2005
Dear Mr. Bush:
Any idea where all our helicopters are? It's Day 5 of Hurricane Katrinaand thousands remain stranded in New Orleans and need to be airlifted.Where on earth could you have misplaced all our military choppers? Doyou need help finding them? I once lost my car in a Sears parking lot.Man, was that a drag.
Also, any idea where all our national guard soldiers are? We couldreally use them right now for the type of thing they signed up to dolike helping with national disasters. How come they weren't there tobegin with?
Last Thursday I was in south Florida and sat outside while the eye of Hurricane Katrina passed over my head. It was only a Category 1 then but it was pretty nasty. Eleven people died and, as of today, there werestill homes without power. That night the weatherman said this storm wason its way to New Orleans. That was Thursday! Did anybody tell you? Iknow you didn't want to interrupt your vacation and I know how you don'tlike to get bad news. Plus, you had fundraisers to go to and mothers ofdead soldiers to ignore and smear. You sure showed her!
I especially like how, the day after the hurricane, instead of flying toLouisiana, you flew to San Diego to party with your business peeps. Don't let people criticize you for this -- after all, the hurricane wasover and what the heck could you do, put your finger in the dike?
And don't listen to those who, in the coming days, will reveal how youspecifically reduced the Army Corps of Engineers' budget for New Orleansthis summer for the third year in a row. You just tell them that even ifyou hadn't cut the money to fix those levees, there weren't going to beany Army engineers to fix them anyway because you had a much moreimportant construction job for them -- BUILDING DEMOCRACY IN IRAQ!
On Day 3, when you finally left your vacation home, I have to say I wasmoved by how you had your Air Force One pilot descend from the clouds asyou flew over New Orleans so you could catch a quick look of thedisaster. Hey, I know you couldn't stop and grab a bullhorn and stand onsome rubble and act like a commander in chief. Been there done that.
There will be those who will try to politicize this tragedy and try touse it against you. Just have your people keep pointing that out.Respond to nothing. Even those pesky scientists who predicted this wouldhappen because the water in the Gulf of Mexico is getting hotter andhotter making a storm like this inevitable. Ignore them and all theirglobal warming Chicken Littles. There is nothing unusual about ahurricane that was so wide it would be like having one F-4 tornado that stretched from New York to Cleveland.
No, Mr. Bush, you just stay the course. It's not your fault that 30percent of New Orleans lives in poverty or that tens of thousands had notransportation to get out of town. C'mon, they're black! I mean, it'snot like this happened to Kennebunkport. Can you imagine leaving whitepeople on their roofs for five days? Don't make me laugh! Race hasnothing -- NOTHING -- to do with this!
You hang in there, Mr. Bush. Just try to find a few of our Armyhelicopters and send them there. Pretend the people of New Orleans andthe Gulf Coast are near Tikrit.
Yours,
Michael Moore
MMFlint@aol.com
www.MichaelMoore.com
P.S. That annoying mother, Cindy Sheehan, is no longer at your ranch.She and dozens of other relatives of the Iraqi War dead are now drivingacross the country, stopping in many cities along the way. Maybe you can catch up with them before they get to DC on September 21st.
P.S. Don't worry, I will get out the politics and get back to gossip very soon. It's bout the only thing normal in my life these days anyway. Stay fab!
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