I don't care if you oppose me in politics, ideology, vision for America or anything else. I don't care if you are one of the 1 percent, the 99 percent, the 47 percent or the others. This weeks is Thanksgiving, and it really makes no difference. You see, we're all in this together — and that's the way it ought to be. Think about who we are as a nation.
Whether you're still celebrating President Obama's re-election or continuing to lament about Mitt Romney's shortcomings, take a moment from your ruminations and remember the poor folks who were devastated by Hurricane Sandy only a few weeks ago.
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Volunteers from Astoria distribute food to needy and displaced residents in Queens on Tuesday.
(Getty Images) |
With the excitement of the presidential election and the gossiping about the David Petreus scandal, Hurricane Sandy may seem now like old news, as if it had happened 15 years ago, not a matter of weeks. Kindly open your wallet and lend a hand.
It's unfortunate, but that's the way our news cycle flows these days in America. We want to be titillated to all extremes to help us forget about the economy or the healthcare picture or the possibility of another war in the Middle East.
A scandal involving a powerful, popular military leader fills the bill ideally. The more gossip, the better for all of us.
Here in Manhattan, where I live, life is pretty much back to whatever passes for normal in this island, somewhere off the coast of America. Oh, my apartment building downtown does not have gas power yet, so I can't cook here or use the dryer yet in the laundry room.
But big deal, you know? I am one of the lucky ones in this town. Just ask the American Red Cross or one of the first responders or a hero who came to NYC from another state just to try to help out my fellow residents.
Staten Island and parts of New Jersey will require decades to become whole again. That is not a bit of media hype, either. That's how bad it is here now.
So, by all means, enjoy your turkey, all the trimmings and the football games on Thursday (though take pity on our woeful New York Jets — but that's another story for another day of anguish). But please also take a moment and remember the victims of Hurricane Sandy. They need all the help they can get.
Jon Friedman writes the Media Web column for MarketWatch.com. Click here to read his latest column. He is also the author of "Forget About Today: Bob Dylan's Genius for (Re)invention, Shunning the Naysayers and Creating a Personal Revolution," which Penguin will publish Aug. 7. Read more reports from Jon Friedman — Click Here Now.
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