A Very Serious Editorial

My fellow Lomblogiacs:

It has been more than three months since I last posted to you. Much has changed in that time. Back then, Martha Stewart was still in ankle bracelets, Tom Cruise was still nominally sane and public calls for assassination were still considered un-Christian. But now we live in a very different world - one that not even Lisa Bonet and Jasmine Guy ever anticipated. Our troops are bogged down in Iraq. High gas prices threaten our economy. The fear of terrorism lurks in major cities all around the globe. And through it all, we are led by men whose incompetence is matched only by their smug evasions of public accountability.

Ok, all of that was true more than two years ago. But now it's even more true.

The forceful winds of Hurricane Katrina have ripped the lid off the American Superdome and laid bare the swampy underbelly of US life, revealing metaphors we never thought possible. Like the terrorist attacks four years ago, a horrific tragedy has enlightened us all to the true nature of this nation's security. We've once again learned that for all of our military resources, solid infrastructure and government protections, we don't really have much in the way of military resources, solid infrastructure or government protections. And the knowledge of just how vulnerable we are to Mother Nature's WMD will color much of what we do from this point forward.

Let me give you an example. I popped in a DVD of The Wizard Of Oz this weekend, a film I must have seen countless times before but suddenly viewed in a whole new light. I couldn't help but think: if a tornado hit Kansas today, the Bush administration would squabble with the state's female Democratic governor, Dorothy would perish before aid arrived, and Toto would consume her remains on live TV. Pretty sobering, isn't it? Oh, perhaps I shouldn't have shared this tidbit with my niece but hopefully my candor will be an example to others with babysitting duties during this tragic time.

Yes, the implications of Katrina will ripple through the American body politic for years to come. In fact, they're already rippling. George W. Bush's already thin reserve of political capital has been reduced to a point where Republicans lack even the moral authority to make Chappaquidick jokes. Environmentalists and other proponents of climate change theory claim vindication, as do millions of elderly Americans who refused to switch it from the Weather Channel. Many wonder if the anti-government backlash of the past few decades has gone too far when ordinary citizens who could've been rescued by FEMA found themselves at the mercy of fate and Sean Penn's nautical skills. The news media has turned over a new leaf, daring to ask questions and express outrage on behalf of people who are outside their target demos. Even cable news has redeemed itself - aside from Geraldo and Larry King, who are the very definition of "irredeemable."

Still, a simple question haunts many of us. No, not "how much does judging Arabian horses pay anyway?" but a broader one: How could this happen? How, in a country with this much wealth, this much power, this many Neville Brothers can we allow New Orleans to sink? I'm not sure but I think it has something to do - metaphorically at least - with having a leadership of wealthy, powerful people who can't be bothered to leave their ranches or even turn on the TV while other people are being flooded out of their homes. Or perhaps I've been on vacation too long.

Whatever the case, there is one bright spot.

The unity that eluded us during two national elections has arrived at last. For no longer are we "red states" and "blue states", but just one bankrupt, nature-battered, militarily-depleted, strife-ridden, black-and-blue state of disaster.

Three more years!!