Selfish and helpless

I think that many of us are feeling very strangely as of late. What Katrina has done to New Orleans and to Mississippi is simply unthinkable. 80-percent of an ENTIRE city underwater? The families being torn apart and lives washed away? Having to evacuate 30,000 people from the Superdome by air (3 feet of water surround the arena)? I totter back and forth between feeling incredibly sad for those affected by the storm and guilt. Who are we to complainabout gas prices? We have our homes, our friends and our families still in tact. But for most of us, who make decent money but who are by no means 'well-off', these gas prices hit our lives hard. I'm not even sure if I'll be able to drive up north to see my grandparents because I can't afford the gas. Will we have to make choices between buying groceries, paying a bill, or filling up our tanks? I don't know if anyone could have predicted the severity of this storm, but it takes a punch in the face to realize that we aren't invicible. We need to live less excessive lives, make reasonable decisions about what we waste, talk about carpooling and other means of conservation, think about alternative sources of energy.

It also makes me feel guilty that it takes a tragedy like this to get people talking. Why weren't we talking about resources and conservation six months or a year ago? We hear reports on the news and on the radio, but it takes something like this to really open our eyes. I just makes me sad, that's all.

EDIT: Here's a great link to all the agencies that are helping in the relief effort, from the Red Cross to The Salvation Army to FEMA and many, many others.