Both Are Civic Responsibilities
Nov. 6th, 2012 09:14 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
blairmacgBy all means, if you're a USAn, go vote today. Everyone will tell you it's your civic duty.
Doing what we can--as individuals--for those in need is a civic duty as well, and shapes the present and future as surely as any election.
So give a moment for the folks still suffering the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy--those still without power, still lacking consistent access to food, water and fuel--who are now facing another round of evacuations, flooding, and high winds from a storm expected to hit tomorrow. Then, on Thursday, those folks with no power (and there will be more of them after Wednesday) will endure freezing temps and inches of snow. To worsen matters, law enforcement resources are stretched thin and communication is little better than word-of-mouth, which has made the most vulnerable folks fearful of opening their doors for help, let alone leaving their homes for a shelter. And in some areas, officials are still scrambling to provide that shelter for all the people who need it.
Little of that will be part of today's popular news stories. Those folks know it, too. And while I'm sure many of them are glad there are provisional voting measures, I'll go out on a limb and say many more are concerned about their survival.
Groups from familiar charities (Red Cross, Salvation Army, and so forth), to those that might surprise some (Occupy Wall Street), are on the ground.
Doing what we can--as individuals--for those in need is a civic duty as well, and shapes the present and future as surely as any election.
So give a moment for the folks still suffering the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy--those still without power, still lacking consistent access to food, water and fuel--who are now facing another round of evacuations, flooding, and high winds from a storm expected to hit tomorrow. Then, on Thursday, those folks with no power (and there will be more of them after Wednesday) will endure freezing temps and inches of snow. To worsen matters, law enforcement resources are stretched thin and communication is little better than word-of-mouth, which has made the most vulnerable folks fearful of opening their doors for help, let alone leaving their homes for a shelter. And in some areas, officials are still scrambling to provide that shelter for all the people who need it.
Little of that will be part of today's popular news stories. Those folks know it, too. And while I'm sure many of them are glad there are provisional voting measures, I'll go out on a limb and say many more are concerned about their survival.
Groups from familiar charities (Red Cross, Salvation Army, and so forth), to those that might surprise some (Occupy Wall Street), are on the ground.
