here today

 

far away so close

we watched television for the first time last night.  we finally let the pictures into our sweet little victorian on the hill we turned on the television and tried to eat our organically grown free range chicken salad nice pinot grigio dinner. 

we watched television for the first time last night and there it was in color black and white america.

white america laments the looting angry about the destruction of Bourbon street and those lovely old homes.  white america vacations in new orleans likes the fact that you can walk outside drink in your hand endless parties jazz everywhere.  white america keeps their televisions off so we can hope that someone else will take care of this problem. 

black america walks down the street carrying a baby looking for water. black america is dying while politicians point fingers the national guard comes too late hell they're all in Iraq, aren't they?  black america lives next to badly shored up levees waiting for funds that never came because white america needed tax breaks and we all need Iraq's oil.

the faces on the television last night were far away but we need to bring them close.  we need no matter our race, our income our class our politics we need to bring them close so that this doesn't happen again because this will happen again.  something like this will happen again.  

we're having a party on sunday.  and I don't know how you have a party when the world is upside down. planned for weeks it's supposed to be a celebration of my future but how can I celebrate my future my white america future when babies are in the streets without water.  

I like to have answers.  I like to end my posts with a pat answer something pithy but today I don't have that for you I don't have that for me.  I don't have any answers only questions.   I like to have answers but today all I can do is watch television and feel far away.

Posted by: 120pages at 09:18 | link | comments (7) |