I’ve been holding off writing lately due, mostly, to the hurricane and the tragedy that followed. My blog is about god in our politics. Katrina seemed about politics. Until now.
The media, in all it’s forms, has been as flooded with images of horror as New Orleans has been with water. Those images have been mostly about poor, black folks stranded amongst the mess. The biggest response to this tragedy has been a call of racism. Racism by the government, racism by the rescuers, racism by George W. Bush, himself. Now, I’m not one to defend G.W. on most counts, but this one, I will. I don’t think he is racist. I think he is classist. This tragedy has happened to poor people. Of all ethnicities. It is just that, unfortunately, this region is inundated with poor blacks. These people had no means of leaving New Orleans or any of the regions where they live. They live in poverty. Where would they go? How would they go? What would they do once they got far enough away? Many of these people had only what was there in their homes. And very little of that was hope.
George W. Bush has spent the last five years slashing taxes for the top 1% richest people in this country. At the same time, he is spending enormous amounts of money on a war based on bogus information. Our deficit is reaching record levels. Spending on domestic issues (read “preparing for natural disasters”) is being slashed time and time again. More tax relief for the top 1%. Less money for the country to operate. More money appropriated for a bogus war. And on and on and on.
The number of people living below poverty has increased for the third straight year. Those who are finally finding work (outside of G.W.’s circle of friends) are finding pay reductions. We are making less money. The top 1% are paying less taxes. The south, having such a large portion of poverty already, gets worse.
All of this amounts to a war against the middle and lower class. Lower and middle class southerners who voted for George W. Bush because he is a moral man. Now they see what this man really thinks of them. Not much. They have no money. But they voted for this man because he is a godly man. I ask you who voted for this man….
Where is your god now?
I think your god was displayed quite powerfully in Katrina. And this god is letting you know. G.W. is NOT a very nice man. And if this doesn’t show you this, nothing will.
Chuck
