American philanthropy has the tendency to sensationalize and forget; a callous attention span.
This past weekend marks the 10-year anniversary of Hurricane Katrina. Remember that? We have forgotten about the horrors and devastation the storm left in its wake, yet those affected by its initial impact are still living with the aftermath each day.
The Data Center estimates about $120 billion in damage. Under George W. Bush’s reign, the Federal Government dispersed approximately $61 billion for relief, never mind rebuild.
A Band-Aid on a gaping wound.
The world rallied together to donate other funds and services in in the affected area’s time of need, for a little while.
Long past the saturated media coverage in the first few weeks, homes and entire neighborhoods were still completely devastated.
Something terrible only exists in the American mind for a short period, and for many, once they’ve done their part it’s out of sight and out of mind.
This has been the case for generations of disasters and tragedies.
What about Ebola?
The U.S. outbreak — if you can call it that, as only 10 Americans were infected to date — subsided in a matter of a few months. Yet, over 22,000 people throughout Africa are infected annually. No longer in our own backyard, the genuine fear about infection have faded into the ether of our minds, a flitting thought.
Not a surprising phenomenon, multimedia at our fingertips consumes us at all and any times. It knows that the attention span is shrinking. Give us images, give us pictures, give us quick.
We’ll care a heck of a lot we swear, until the next shooting or earthquake shatters millions of lives halfway across the globe.
Having such short attention spans towards national disasters doesn’t take away from the do-gooder attitude of American society. Every bit helps. But we should be capable of monitoring the tragedies in the world and allocating appropriate concern and money.
People’s problems should not be a trend.
Celebrity endorsement is one of the hottest ways to sell a product, even disaster relief. During any crisis, Hollywood parades a line of celebrities behind the camera to tell us whom to donate to this week.
And it works.
If Angelia Jolie cares about curing AIDS, so do I. Right?
We are blinded by the glittery-ness of their complexion and we move from cause to cause as often as they change their hair.
The trend of being philanthropic is unique to the millennial generation, and it should continue to grow and thrive. The quality and time span of such dedication, however, should be increased.
In its diamond anniversary this year, the aftereffects of Hurricane Katrina are still felt along the Gulf. New Orleans’ population alone decreased from 484,674 in 2000 to 230,172. The city, impacted the most by the hurricane, still only has 79 percent of its former population. Many were displaced and unable to rebuild after the storm.
Even if we’ve forgotten, Gulf residents are still feeling the hasn’t.