At last, some good news. It's too bad that the good news is linked to bad news as well.
The broken levees have been fixed and the pumps have been turned back on in New Orleans. This will make it easier on the rescue teams who are struggling to reach all parts of the underwater city.
But are the rescue teams (and the entire nation) prepared for what lies underneath the water that will be exposed in the next several weeks as the pumps work around-the-clock to get the water out?
The next chapter in this horror story is about to begin. Brace yourselves, it isn't going to be good. At least 10,000 decomposing bodies, toxic sludge, rubble and all kinds of nasty things that we can't fathom await exposure to the surface.
Is the American public prepared to see dozens of decomposing bodies exposed to open air on national TV? It's sure to be carried on the networks; if you have a weak stomach, it might not be a bad idea to avoid watching live news feeds out of New Orleans for a while.
Hopefully the press is sensitive to refugee families and doesn't show enough for refugee families to identify the decomposing remains of their loved ones who were left behind. They don't have to see that.
I also hope the government is providing for the mental health of everyone involved in relief operations along the Gulf Coast; these men and women are seeing stuff that most of us cannot possibly fathom; they're going to need help in dealing with the unbelievable amount of stress and anguish that they've already encountered and what they are about to encounter.
May God help them all.
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