We've been talking in my lit class about the ideologies we hold and how deeply unaware we are of these ideologies, despite the fact that they determine practically every move we make. Questioning why we do what we do is generally damned threatening, even for a person who thinks they're down with their inner psyche.

It's really been hitting me today after reading a post on a certain tourist location's travel board (yes I know, when I plan a trip, I really plan a trip.) On this board, a woman announced that she is canceling her trip to said place because she feels too guilty and saddened by the Katrina disaster to go. Her trip is not tomorrow or in a week, it is actually in October. She doesn't have family or friends who are affected, she is just some lady in the East who is sad.

And I think...Why did she have to post this? I also ask, why did she have to announce that even though it was going to cost her $400 in lost deposits, she felt it was something she had to do.

And what I really thought was how much it would piss me off if I were destitute and I found out some heifer Yankee pissed away 400 precious dollars b/c she was SAD for me. Is she going to match that amount in donations? Is she going to spend her vacation time volunteering help? No? Then take your priviledged martyr bulletin board flashy show of sympathy and shove it up your ass.

The people who responded were a little more sensible. As they pointed out, people would only make things worse if they were to stop spending money and buying goods. People are not only without homes, and basic necessities, but also without jobs to report to. Businesses all over the US are being affected by this: if they're losing money, they're not hiring. They're not spending money themselves for other goods, and to be frank, they're also not donating money or resources.

Am I just cynical (ok yes, of course I am, but on this subject in particular?), or does it really just reek of a token self serving act to inflate her own sense of personal "humanity."

I wanted to ask her: if Katrina hadn't occurred, would you have cancelled your trip because 800 people, mostly women and children, were trampled to death this week in Iraq? Would she even have posted about it, or given one thought to it?

Did she cancel a trip when thousands upon thousands of already deeply impoverished people, with no warning, were wiped out last December?

I have to tell you, I'm about as far from a saintly philanthropist as my rear is from my lower back...Which is evidenced by my rocket-to-sarcastic take on this lady. It's easy to talk about charity and compassion, but it takes a special person to really walk that walk. So bless all those who do what they do everyday to help other people, not because it makes them feel better, look better, or earn them a cushy seat in the afterlife, but because it is just that in their minds, there was never any other option.

My heart is with those suffering, and those who are trying to aid them. May they be protected and comforted.