- Dear God,
-
- The other night, the Rev. James Dobson's ministry asked
all believers to pray for a storm on Thursday night so that the Obama acceptance
speech outdoors in Denver would have to be cancelled.
-
- I see that You have answered Rev. Dobson's prayers --
except the storm You have sent to earth is not over Denver, but on its
way to New Orleans! In fact, You have scheduled it to hit Louisiana at
exactly the moment that George W. Bush is to deliver his speech at the
Republican National Convention.
-
- Now, heavenly Father, we all know You have a great sense
of humor and impeccable timing. To send a hurricane on the third anniversary
of the Katrina disaster AND right at the beginning of the Republican Convention
was, at first blush, a stroke of divine irony. I don't blame You, I know
You're angry that the Republicans tried to blame YOU for Katrina by calling
it an "Act of God" -- when the truth was that the hurricane itself
caused few casualties in New Orleans. Over a thousand people died because
of the mistakes and neglect caused by humans, not You.
-
- Some of us tried to help after Katrina hit, while lBush
ate cake with McCain and twiddled his thumbs. I closed my office in New
York and sent my entire staff down to New Orleans to help. I asked people
on my website to contribute to the relief effort I organized -- and I ended
up sending over two million dollars in donations, food, water, and supplies
(collected from thousands of fans) to New Orleans while Bush's FEMA ice
trucks were still driving around Maine three weeks later.
-
- But this past Thursday night, the Washington Post reported
that the Republicans had begun making plans to possibly postpone the convention.
The AP had reported that there were no shelters set up in New Orleans for
this storm, and that the levee repairs have not been adequate. In other
words, as the great Ronald Reagan would say, "There you go again!"
-
- So the last thing John McCain and the Republicans needed
was to have a split-screen on TVs across America: one side with Bush and
McCain partying in St. Paul, and on the other side of the screen, live
footage of their Republican administration screwing up once again while
New Orleans drowns.
-
- So, yes, You have scared the Jesus, Mary and Joseph out
of them, and more than a few million of your followers tip their hats to
You.
-
- But now it appears that You haven't been having just
a little fun with Bush & Co. It appears that Hurricane Gustav is truly
heading to New Orleans and the Gulf coast. We hear You, O Lord, loud and
clear, just as we did when Rev. Falwell said You made 9/11 happen because
of all those gays and abortions. We beseech You, O Merciful One, not to
punish us again as Pat Robertson said You did by giving us Katrina because
of America's "wholesale slaughter of unborn children." His sentiments
were <http://mediamatters.org/items/200509130004>echoed by other
Republicans in 2005.
-
- So this is my plea to you: Don't do this to Louisiana
again. The Republicans got your message. They are scrambling and doing
the best they can to get planes, trains and buses to New Orleans so that
everyone can get out. They haven't sent the entire Louisiana National Guard
to Iraq this time -- they are already patrolling the city streets. And,
in a nod to I don't know what, Bush's head of FEMA has named a man to help
manage the federal government's response. His name is W. Michael Moore.
I kid you not, heavenly Father. They have sent <http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2008/08/20080830-2.html>a
man with both my name AND W's to help save the Gulf Coast.
-
- So please God, let the storm die out at sea. It's done
enough damage already. If you do this one favor for me, I promise not to
invoke your name again. I'll leave that to the followers of Rev. Dobson
and to those gathering this week in St. Paul.
-
- Your faithful servant and former seminarian,
-
- Michael Moore
- <mailto:mmflint@aol.com>MMFlint@aol.com
- <http://www.michaelmoore.com/>MichaelMoore.com
-
- P.S. To all of God's fellow children who are reading
this, the city New Orleans has not yet recovered from Katrina. Please <http://troublethewaterfilm.com/content/pages/learn_what_you_can_do/>click
here for a list of things you can do to help our brothers and sisters on
the Gulf Coast. And, if you do live along the Gulf Coast, please take all
necessary safety precautions immediately.
|