I am putting up this post from Sydney, Australia, where it is
approaching 6 pm on September 1. I'm here attending and
speaking at a conference, yet all of the talk is about the tragedy of
Katrina. Everyone asks me about it, some have asked if I have
family in the area (I do not), and the universal reaction to the
ensuing conversation is the long face and sad head shake accompanying
the abiding sense of incredulity we all feel over what has happened.
There are simply no words available to adequately express our
pain. How is it possible that such a cruel fate could befall
innocent people? My heart is aching as I watch wall-to-wall
coverage on CNN International, as well as foreign media outlets.
It is especially difficult to watch interviews with hurricane victims
who are utterly disconsolate over missing loved ones. As despair
overwhelms them, they openly sob, as do the reporters interviewing
them. Each of us in our own way is weeping over the random and
desperately senseless destruction that Mother Nature has unleashed upon
us.
Even as the people of New Orleans and the entire Gulf Coast begin the
long and arduous process of rebuilding their shattered lives, we know
that, in the end, they will prevail over this tragedy. It is
simply not in the American experience to do otherwise and we will pull
together as a nation and as a people to ensure their ultimate success
and renaissance. In the meantime, we share with them our love and
our strength as they work hard to make it through the difficult days
ahead.
