The unfolding of the grim drama of Katrina is at once surreal and grittily real. Surreal because of some of the images seen on various media outlets. One I saw tonight was particularly so -- a blazing inferno surrounded by a sea of water as a structure was going to cinders in New Orleans. Other images, sound-bites and such add a frightening portent to what is playing out.
Looting is rampant. Those who have been ordered out of NOLA because of the rising flood waters and lack of drinkable water are stealing -- boxes full of athletic shoes! For what? How pointless! Law enforcement officers -- risking their lives for others -- are being fired upon with assault weapons. A city famous for revelry and lawlessness lives up to its reputation. We need to ask ourselves, "What are we becoming?"
The photo above shows the area around the NOLA facility of the company I work for (upper left hand corner). Yesterday, as I walked outdoors during the lunch break, the outer bands of Katrina streaked overhead. The breeze was gusty and I wondered what was happening a couple of hundred miles south as the storm was roaring northward. Later in the day, it seemed that perhaps the Crescent City might have been spared the worst. However, almost as if it was time-release medicine, the worst-case appears to be overtaking the city.
Pray for the Gulf Coast. Pray for New Orleans. Pray for a nation that thinks it is invincible. When Nora Lam was imprisoned in Communist China for her faith, the Chinese commanding officer told her that one day, her god would be found only in museums. She answered, "To do that, you would have to imprison the wind." A fitting reminder to a nation that has forgotten God.
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