New Orleans 2005 must lead to the elimination of poverty and racism

Originally posted on CrossLeft on Thu, 09/08/2005; Unfortunately, it seems as though we have fallen woefully short in the call to action that Katrina was.

For those of us not in the direct path of Katrina, the images of human desperation and tragic death have penetrated our hearts with deep sorrow and shock. We can barely comprehend the devastation and loss of each precious life. It is times like these that so many of us look to God for comfort and the courage to persevere.

So many people of goodwill around the world have sprung into action to donate their limited resources. Christianity at this point is best expressed in that financial support to relief and rebuilding efforts.

The time for a critical analysis of the failed response and the classism and racism inherent in the calamities of the New Orleans and the Gulf Coast must be in the agenda now. Progressive Christians will have a unique and important role to bring to that discussion and we intend to be active.

At the outset, we strongly repudiate any suggestions from some small segment of Christians who believe that this destruction resulted from God's punishment of a sinful city. While the storm was of biblical proportions, such suggestions are hateful and indeed belie the fact, the most of the suffering was the burden of the poor and black people of the Gulf Coast. We, as progressive Christians, believe God stands by the victims and refugees offering hope for a new tomorrow and enters the hearts of the emergency response personnel fortifying them for the overwhelming challenges of rescuing the living and recovering the dead. Jesus spoke of compassion and loving our neighbors. Condemnation, especially in times of tremendous human tragedy, is utterly incongruent with Jesus’s notion of brotherly love.

Similar to the images of police dogs attacking black children in Birmingham, the indelible images of suffering of the largely black and poor populations in New Orleans must become the rallying cry for long-term social action against poverty. The rebuilding process must seek to eliminate the grave inequalities that forced poor people to stay behind and ride out the storm. The fact is that the entire nation needs a rebuilding process that eliminates poverty. As Christians, we must strive to do on earth as it is in heaven. Despite however improbable seeming, the elimination of poverty is entirely possible. Our collective political will must make it so.

New Orleans, the afflicted areas of Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama, and indeed this entire nation will never be the same. Let us comfort the victims and those families who are devastated by the storm. Relying on our faith let us have hope for a brighter tomorrow as we face a rebuilding process will take years of our best efforts. The fact is that we need not only to rebuild the Gulf Coast, but also to restructure the fabric of our society so that no one goes hungry and no one lacks the resources to flee from a major storm. God will be with us every step of the way.

And on Wed, 09/14/2005 "Bush stops the spin?"

It appears as though Bush, finally, finally took responsibility for his failure in running the federal government. After trying to spin, he finally took responsibility, the first mistake he's admitted in his administration. Unfortunately, its two weeks too late. JFK took immediate responsibility for the Bay of Pigs. For Harry Truman, the buck stopped at his desk. Bush blames the bureaucracy that he is supposed to be running. He only takes responsibility once his approval rating falls to 38%.

But taking responsibility for the severely failed hurricane response is only part of the equation. Bush must take responsibility for the grinding poverty that left the poor disproportionately affected by the hurricane.

The questions that must be posed to him however is: what will he do now to end poverty? What will he do to ensure that the government not only handles the next major emergency but also ends the daily tragedy of poverty in this country?