I don't know any of you yet 'cause I just got here but what I seem to sense for the most part is a Hallmark Cards kind of thing going on. There are those who apparently think everything is an awakening to a better future and there are those who think that a note of condolence and support, along with a wink, a nod, a pat on the back and a reference to the divine will do the trick. Not that there is anything wrong with caring, the problem is how to convey it in a way that is meaningful, or authentic, as the current buzzword goes.
I can't begin to feel what the people of the Gulf Coast feel. The best I can do is to take a pragmatic approach- I can help in the reconstruction, I can give money, and I can look around where I live and see that our levees and infrastructure are up to the task they may be expected to endure. I can also work to bring down, defeat or redirect my government in ways that will not allow it to put the infrastructure at risk in exchange for tax cuts- producing an elite class exempt from the destructive forces of nature and a disposable class left to fend for themselves. My sympathy and my sadness are here but they fuel my actions.