Raw material:
material suitable for manufacture or use or finishing (n).
Raw materials include things like cotton, grains, ore, and oil that we take from or grow in the earth. We turn these materials into products like clothing, rugs, bread, cars and gas. They are the products that feed our economy.
I would like to shift this definition a bit and make it a verb, a word of action.
In Hurricane Katrina and Rita evacuation centers across many states sit a manpower force charged to do something. For days, they have been frustrated, ignored, shamed and shuffled about by one government group after another. They have no where to go, little to do and are wondering about tomorrow.
These people, too, are “raw material.” Their spirits may be broken but inside is are dynamos ready to take off. They are raw, untapped and willing. Why not tap into this force and use it in the recovery program?
Don’t go to contractors in Chicago, Los Angeles and Atlanta to set up another government contract. Why not go to this force of "raw material", those who have a stake in the recovery work, a stake in their family, a purpose for the future? We have an unprecedented opportunity to capture this energy source and turn it into a remarkable force for good.
For the most part, these people don’t need to be given jobs at Wal-Mart or Taco Bell. They need to become part of the solution, part of the recovery from Katrina and Rita and part of their own recovery. This is part of restoring their human dignity, their mental frame of mind and the future of the Gulf Coast.
I have lived in Texas, Mississippi and Florida and have witnessed the spirit of the people living there. They love their part of the world, their friends and neighbors and greet visitors with a smile. Why can’t we, as a nation, support them in restoring their heart and soul along with new clothing, water and dollars.
We hear about people breaking in to stores to "steal" food, diapers and water. Let us step back for a moment and think of basic human needs. These people were desperate to feed their children, their families and themselves. I would bet that many of these "thieves" would have been happy to have left a chit or an IOU, saying, “I will pay you with time, labor or money when I have a way to make it again or can get it from my bank account.”
So I propose that we harness this "raw material" to rebuild their city with lots of creative new ideas for a greater and better tomorrow.
When this happens, their homes and neighborhoods will be lush not only in vegetation but most importantly in human spirit.
© 2005 Sue Trumpfheller, Laguna Hills CA
