Stop Blaming and Offer Help: People Act to Make a Difference in Katrina's Wake
Ventura Star, September 19, 2005
By Terry Paulson, PhD

Where does America's greatness reside? It comes from American citizens who are willing to do their part to make a difference for fellow citizens in need. They are not waiting for permission from authorities; they are taking action. While far too many politicians are playing the blame game, citizens are already doing what they can to make a difference. With a spirit of self-reliance and a commitment to servicing others, Americans are applying flexible optimism, resourcefulness, and persistence to meet the challenge of Katrina.

We can't control the forces of nature, but we can control our response to the disaster. America has always been known for its "can-do" optimism. Optimists perceive failures as temporary setbacks, rather than final verdicts. What people think when things go wrong determines whether they give up or get busy overcoming the problem. Victors say to themselves, "I'm going to figure out how to beat this one way or another." Victims say, "I'll never be able to succeed." The most resilient among us have turned their frustration into constructive action. They are helping to create a new beginning for the Gulf Coast one day at a time. I'm tired of the whining and blaming; it's time to honor some of the true heroes from inside and outside of the disaster zone who have been covered in recent weeks!

Half of her house uninhabitable after a tree crashed through their roof in Covington, LA, Peggy Miranda and her family were still more focused on doing what they could to help others. Peggy confided, "It was healing for us to serve. This is a great opportunity to love on people who you would never love on…. It's like sending soldiers back to war. Our men would go out to serve. They'd come back fatigued, beat up and scratched. They rest for a day, eat and then go back."

Police Sgt. Jeff Sandoz has had few breaks from a series of nonstop rescue missions. Declining R&R in Vegas, he asserted, "You just suck it up and drive on. I'll be here as long as they need me. I'm not running away from anything." Morale in the New Orleans police force may be in tatters, but attitudes like Jeff's will leave the force stronger long after Katrina is gone.

Charlene Hoover said out her car window to a family sitting on the curb outside the Astrodome, "Are ya'll from New Orleans?" When Hasheen Cook replied affirmatively, Charlene said, "Well, we're looking for a family to adopt. Do ya'll need a place to stay?" Members of the Cook family wept with joy. Charlene's husband, Chuck, said, "We had to do this. We couldn't just sit and watch on TV and not do anything."

Michael Bennett, a 43-year old business owner from Ventura County, joined others making a difference in Baton Rouge. With tears, he said, "Until you've helped someone through a disaster like this you haven't lived. There's nothing like helping people." When Michael's neighbors heard he was going to help, they piled food and clothes in his truck.

Diane Campbell, Camarillo resident and Red Cross volunteer, is serving dawn to nightfall in Lake Charles, LA. Her words echo thoughts of so many helpers, "I told my husband this kind of work almost feels like a calling. It's just something I have to do. This is something larger than we've ever seen in this country. We all have to do something in any way we can."

In Texas, they aren't just taking care of people at shelters; they're getting children into schools. Elegaine Gobert had her five children scrubbed and ready for school. Gobert, a nurse from Mississippi, said, "Despite losing everything in the storm, school must continue. That's the most important thing. They don't need to be here all day depressed in a shelter."

In Biloxi, Mississippi, Pastor Herman Henderson brought clothes, food and baby formula collected from his congregation in Birmingham, AL. "The people in the projects here weren't getting any help at all-no food, no diapers for the kids. I've brought three truck loads of supplies down to help these people, because nobody else was."

Stan Tiner, Biloxi Sun Herald editor, and his family said prayers together and then did what they could. "My plight may be bad, but so many others have it worse. So even if some have lost all of their worldly possessions,…they have much for which to give thanks. The statement that has become our mantra is 'I'm still standing.' This has led us to profoundly understand our dependence on others…. Will you help us?"

Yes, America will help and, as always, is helping! These people honored are not victims. They are survivors who are bouncing back to help themselves and others in the Gulf Coast to take back their lives. Many may be poorer, but they are all far richer in spirit. Let's not just applaud them; let's find a way to join them.

Dr. Terry Paulson is a psychologist, speaker and author of The Dinner: The Political Conversation Your Mother Told You Never to Have

—May we never forget how truly blessed we are!