Think of the children ...

No, really, I'm serious. As people funnel unprecedented amounts of money, time and treasure into relief for those affected by Hurricane Katrina, I would strongly encourage them to focus their efforts not so much on taking care of the adults, but on taking care of the children. Adults can always make their own choices and may deal with what life hands them in whatever way they choose to, but unfortunately, children don't have that same choice. Their well-being and their very lives depend utterly and completely on the good - or bad - decisions of the adults around them.

There are plenty of little ones whose lives will be affected in a much more profound and permanent manner than any grown adult who has been affected by the Katrina disaster, kids who are crying themselves to sleep every night on a strange bed in a strange city, not knowing anybody, wondering if they'll ever see their mommy or daddy again. One great thing that community shelters across the Southeast are doing, is that they are taking photos of the lone displaced kids that come in and are posting them to Missingkids.com so that family members can locate them and reunite. Missingkids.com is also encouraging families missing their kids to post as well. Many organizations involved in the relief efforts are running sub-projects focused specifically on helping kids with school placement, school supplies, and much more. If you're donating to a particular charity or organization, you can specify that you want your money to go to these things.

Wouldn't it be nice if politicians just stopped posturing and our libbie friends stopped putting down the blame finger for just a few moments and channeled more of that energy into helping the children they always chide us for not thinking of?