*Is It Just Me...........................*

Is it just me or are my fellow countrymen becoming immune to pain and suffering. Over the last few days, I have been watching all of the rescue efforts and the wonderful support that most of my countrymen have been giving to the people displaced in the Gulf by hurricane Katrina. They are there to help people that have been left with nothing, no homes, no jobs, many wondering where the rest of their family has been displaced to, wondering about where their pets are. God help them, they have been dealt such a horrible blow. You can't turn on the television without seeing horrible stories of loss and pain and suffering. This was an act of nature such as this country has never seen in my lifetime. The overall loss of people will, most likely, even surpass the 911 tragedy. I so admire the Coast Guard, the local police, the firefighters, the doctors and nurses who stayed at their places of employment and went for days existing on little to no sleep, minimal supplies with total commitment to their patients. These are the unsung heroes that will probably not receive true recognition, at least in this life. There are also the many people who have contributed to the Red Cross, even a nurse that I work with is going down to assist without any thought of compensation. The other famous people that have used their celebrity and their money to help those in need, the people as well as the lost animals.

No, it is not these people that concern me. I frequent many message boards about things that interest me, my book reading passion, my low carb eating boards, my pet boards, my makeup and fragrance boards. On some of them, I am hearing people say with relation to the victims left in the hurricane aftermath: "well at least they were given a place to stay". Of course they were, at the superdome which had no electricity, no airconditioning, no food or water for a multitude of over 25,000 people who were the elderly, babies, women and small children and many with medical problems who were held hostage by a small group of hoodlums with guns who inflicted rape, robbery and sometimes murder upon them, for over 5 days! Unbelievable, but "at least they were given a place to stay".
The overworked policemen in the area, who worked night and day without rest, not knowing if their own families were safe or if they had homes to return to, kept working to help people. After over a week, when at least 2 had committed suicide, several were asked to take a few days vacation so that they could rest and recover. One of my board posters said, "I don't really think any money should be going towards the policemen's vacations". Lord Help Us.
Many also said, "well, they knew it was coming, they should have got the hell out of the way". These were some of our nation's poorest with little or no money and definitely without transportation.
Even Barbara Bush stated that since they were now in Texas they were likely "in a better place than they were used to" even though they are living in the Astrodome in Houston. Then she giggled her little laugh as if Texas was doing these poor souls a favor by "letting" them live for a short time at this facility.
Is it just me or have we become so uncaring, so self- centered, so immune to the plight of the poor, the hungry, the displaced that we just don't care anymore? I find this whole thing just heartbreaking in this great nation.