The Day the Grand Ole Opry Flooded the Music Did Not Die

But for the oil spill off the coast of Louisiana, the global efforts to bailout Greece, or the general elections in the UK, the historic floods that left much of Tennessee under water two weeks ago would have received Katrina-style media coverage. Hell, just the flooding of the Grand Ole Opry would have been cause for “BREAKING NEWS” on every media outlet. 

As it happened, this catastrophe unfolded with nary a mention in the mainstream media. Despite the fact that 34 people died, thousands of homes were ruined, and half of Tennessee’s Counties were declared disaster areas. 

It is also interesting to note that precious few of the celebrities who normally rush to help raise funds for victims of such disasters have been conspicuously absent.  Perhaps this has to do with the longstanding view of country music as the bastard sibling of the blues. And this, in turn, might explain why A-listers like Brad Pitt would readily plead for relief on behalf of poor black folks in New Orleans but not on behalf of poor white folks in Nashville.

Of course, with the celebrity of country music stars like Garth Brooks and Taylor Swift rising to the stratosphere where that of A-listers reside, they can easily do for Nashville what stars like George Clooney and Sandra Bullock have done for New Orleans.

But I commend comedian Jerry Seinfeld for offering to donate all proceeds from his concert on Friday to the Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee and the American Red Cross to help ongoing relief efforts. I urge you to donate whatever you can by contacting the Red Cross here.

NOTE: For my take on the outcome of the British General Election at Caribbean Net News, click here.