boy oh boy what a crazy last couple of weeks. for those of you who don't know, let me give you a rundown, since the last post, i've bought a house with kinsey, moved in, two days after we closed went to tulsa for two days, then on to atlanta for another three. i feel a little uprooted. not to be outdone, j-mo decided to lose everything in a hurricane, move back home just to be chased away from the gulf coast by big bad rita. ...and she's a lucky one, she had somewhere to go.
i keep thinking of this study that emile durkheim did in the period after the stock market crashed (it's called the great depression for anyone who knows absolutely nothing about american history). there was a huge increase in the number of men who committed suicide in the months after the crash. these men had families, mortgages, cars, etc. that they were depending on these supposedly solid jobs that all of a sudden disappeared. durkheim coined this term "anomie" which basically means normlessness. there was nothing normal about life for these men.
now, i'm in no way saying that i feel suicidal, or even depressed, this really isn't about me anymore but about those whose lives were completely uprooted a few weeks ago with katrina. i've got no agenda, nothing to push, just this realization through what i considered major life changes that were completely overshadowed by the plight of these people, of how difficult it must be. there are tons of ways that we could be helping, but so far, my way has been to talk alot about it. i've felt that i don't have the extra money, and i can't go there and that's all that people want...and i fancied myself as being creative.
i am in the process of teaming up the foster youth of oklahoma (with whom i work every day) and habitat for humanity to build some houses in the norman area. sure, that doesn't do anything directly with the areas that were hit by katrina, but there is a hope of some of these homes housing relocated survivors of the hurricane. also, there is the added potential that once the city of new orleans has been cleaned up, there will be a collaborative effort with other chapters to rebuild.
my point isn't to pat myself on the back at all, i'll be getting paid for my organizational time and thus, certainly cannot be seen as a volunteer. my point is to say that we can do something. everyone that i know reads this i consider to be creative, intelligent people. put it to use for helping people.
in my parent's bathroom growing up there was this poem on the wall that even as a child struck a chord in me. it is the essence of our ability to persevere:
I am but a man, but i am a man.
i cannot do everything, but i can do something.
what i can do i ought to do, and with god's help i will do.
when i can run, i will run.
when i can but walk, i will walk.
when i can only crawl, i will crawl,
but i will crawl forward.
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