I'm angry again.

I would never deny anyone the right to express their opinion, no matter how much I disagree with them.

At the same time, there is a time and a place to help, just as the same exists for expressing one's opinion and furthering one's own political agenda.

The midst of a crisis, when people's lives are in an uproar at least, and in danger at best, is not the time for photo ops, sound bites, and other such modern media manipulation. Yet, many political leaders with a bone to pick with George Bush, white people, or government in general are subscribing to the kick-everyone-while-they're-down practices of modern politics.

Yes, FEMA dropped the ball, badly. I've never been reluctant to express my own distrust of a strong, central controlling government. But I also believe in being fair, and anyone with a lick of common sense should realize that the folks on the ground when and where a disaster strikes are the ones most responsible for protecting their citizens.

Nothing I've ever read by the founders of this country ever suggested the Constitution requires the federal government to take care of anyone. I won't argue the semantics of the words "promote the general welfare" as written in the preamble. Simply put, those words do not give anyone the right to sit on their backsides while the government cares for them, using money apparently produced by magic fairies.

But the arguments over who is immediately responsible for helping which citizens is a commentary for another day and another place.

I'm angriest at the bigots who have turned Hurricane Katrina into a racial "thing".

I sincerely doubt that either the folks who claim the response was slower because many victims were black have any better ground on which to stand than the idiots who claimed God was striking black people for being lazy. Neither group deserves the time it took me to write those words, much less the amount of airtime they get on television.

Then we get to the so-called "rap artist" on television the other night.

This professionally-angry young man took the few moments he had on national television not to exhort people to donate to the relief effort, but to condemn the Bush administration and say the President was sending soldiers to shoot black people in New Orleans.

I sincerely hope that young man's grandmother-or somebody's grandmother-slapped him silly.

If you have a problem with society, I always say you should express it, and work to change things. This young man is apparently a rising star in the music world, so he must have some marketable talent. Why the heck couldn't he use that notoriety and talent to raise some money for those he alleged to care so much about-and raise Cain about the government later?

All that rascal did was throw more fuel on the flames of racism, a bonfire that has been much reduced but which some people are trying to rebuild.

The same day that concert aired, we finally heard from my sister Rebecca.

She and her family were safe, but in need. We didn't know at the time how bad things were for her, but when we found out, the outpouring from people she'd never met was incredible.

I thank you all, from our church family at Centerville and the folks at Butters, to Tammy Armstrong, Bruce Dickerson, Deputy Jimmy Stanley and Brother James and Miss Becky Melvin.

And our little experience with people reaching out to help someone was just one tiny example-just one family of the thousands being affected in Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama.

Becky had family who could help, in a community that is an example of how to help others. But way down South, people are still crying, and will be for a while.

People are starting to get the help they need; a system is finally being shaken into place; the rescuers can now become recovery workers, finding those for whom time ran out.

Was the response as sharp as it should have been? No. Was it delayed because so many of the victims were poor and black? No, in fact, I could easily and with little guilt emphasize that 'no' with an expletive.

Did the President send soldiers to Louisiana to shoot black people, as that young man said the other night? No, with multiple expletives. He sent soldiers to stop looters and criminals, of all colors, from adding to the chaos.

And I can assure anyone that if I were facing a looter or a thief, I would not worry about his or her race, religion, employment status, or credit rating. I might worry more about whether I had enough ammunition for his fellow looters.

Do I know precisely wherein lie the failures in Katrina's aftermath? No-and right now, I don't care.

All I care about is that people are helping people in need, and that's what this country has always been about.

And if the politicians, the rabble-rousers, the racists and the rubes can't stop spouting their hate-filled foolishness long enough to really help someone-they need to get the heck out of the way for other people who will.

Because for Americans, it really doesn't matter what is the color of your skin-if you truly need help, somebody will help you.

But you shouldn't always look to the government for support. Sometimes the best help can come from the average Joe and Jane next door.

And if you're willing to help yourself, like so many folks down there, someone will give you hand.

--30-