Children are taught to take pride in our country and to have faith in what our government can and will do for us, due to the simple fact that we are all American. However, the wide-eyed and innocent faith that I once held in my democratic government was shattered in one day.
On August 29, 2005, I was a freshman at Georgetown. Juxtaposed with the typical freshman experience came a devastating reality that too many had to endure. Within a matter of days, Hurricane Katrina had destroyed everything that I knew to be home. Some lost literally everything that they had. I was blessed to not have lost my home, but the loss of an entire city—a place you’ve known your whole life—will traumatize anyone.
Two years later—a new season and a new time for the people of New Orleans. That’s what it should be, but it’s not. I have been back and forth to New Orleans numerous times since the hurricane and there has been little progress. There is no reason why a major city, such as New Orleans, should be in the state that it is today. In the parts of the city that were severely affected (New Orleans East and the Lower Ninth Ward), people are still living in FEMA trailers. People are camping out on what used to be their property, awaiting the governmental agencies and insurance companies that are supposed to, in good faith, offer aid to victims of disaster. There are still thousands without the basic necessities to simply move on with their lives.
The murder rate, suicide rate and depression rate amongst the victims of Katrina have increased significantly. It’s not just the loss of physical and tangible things, but also the loss of good times and the memories that drowned with our city. The people of New Orleans and the Gulf Coast have had to stand alone in our fight to repair all that is broken. There is still so much sadness and pain in these areas, but it has been an amazing experience to see the spirit and strength of our people over these last two years.
Given the lack of governmental aid Katrina victims have eceived, one must question how this dogged strength surfaced. In the absence of human resolve and the presence of human weakness, it has only been God Himself whom has pulled this area and its people through. There is no other explanation for the ever-present perseverance and continued strength, for the sense of peace in the midst of all of this turmoil and injustice.
This situation, like many others before it, shows qualities of the human spirit in dire situations and our natural inclinations to turn our eyes heavenward when we do not know why such atrocities occur.
Now, in the latter half of my Georgetown career, I have had to re-evaluate my definition of what it means to be an American. If being American means watching our brother’s struggle to survive in a land of resources and opportunities, then this country needs to re-evaluate its identity.
