Whether they are totally driven by humans or the vicissitudes of nature, in order to survive, we have to be able to center and orient ourselves. We start with Superstorm Sandy. We are coming very close to the second anniversary of that extraordinary, cataclysmic event. When the seemingly impossible merger of a hurricane and an extra-tropical northeaster cyclone barreled in to one of the most populous and powerful centers of the world.
What was that weather event? Why were we so unprepared? Are we more prepared for a future such event? KATHRYN MILES has written a truly riveting book, Superstorm: Nine Days Inside Hurricane Sandy. She will speak and sign copies of the book This Saturday, October 25 at the 22nd annual Tampa Bay Times Festival of Reading on the campus of USF St. Petersburg. Kathryn will appear in the Poynter Institute Barnes Paviolion at 11:00 AM. Ms. Miles serves as a writer-in-residence for Green Mountain College. Her article for Outside magazine on the story of the Bounty during Hurricane Sandy was named a “must-read” by the New Yorker, Longform and The Daily Beast. The response to the article was so strong it was obvious it needed to be expanded to a book.
Superstorm Sandy and the cascading weather events of climate change, primarily human driven, are totally unmooring our sense of balance in nature. Hubris? Ignorance? Greed? Arrogance? Stupidity? All? None? Where is the moral center here? How can we as individuals shape a sense of consensual commonality that is essential to us in these times?
We as individuals cannot solve these problems, we must establish pathways to consensual commonalities.
MORAL MONDAYS are coming to Florida. On Monday, October 27 Moral Monday rallies will be held in five Florida cities: St. Petersburg, Tallahassee, Pensacola, Panama City and Jacksonville with the common theme of “Get Out the Vote.” The outcome of mid-term elections will be defined by one thing: turn out. SHANA SMITH (you may know her as Shana Banana!) will discuss Moral Mondays Florida and the MORAL MONDAY ST. PETE RALLY. The rally will take place from 5 PM to 6:30 PM in Williams Park, 330 2nd Ave. North, St. Petersburg. This is a nonpartisan event and everyone interested in true American Democracy is encouraged and welcome to attend. Following the rally, there will be a march to early voting.
