If there should be any everlasting impression left on Americans by Hurricane Katrina, it should be the appreciation for life itself; a general sentiment within Americans to rally behind those in need, no matter how big or small the newspaper headline.

Even though the estimated death toll in New Orleans has recently been depleted from the initial 10,000 estimate given by New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin, hundreds of lives have been officially lost, but hundreds of thousands of lives are forever changed.

Children have been displaced from their neighborhoods, friends, pets and family members.

Parents have lost their homes, cars, assets, jobs and in many cases, identification cards.

In the wake of such a catastrophe, countless organizations are rallying to support the victims of Katrina in any way possible.

The Red Cross seeks food, money and volunteers while the National Guard wants guards to restore order and protect citizens. Entertainers are singing tune after tune to raise funds and sentiment for the victims, and the Northern Star asks for a $2 donation to aid Katrina survivors.

Katrina’s deaths are motivating Americans to help and leave behind a legacy, yet the media’s script of death is written in almost every newspaper, every day.

Former Dominica Prime Minister Eugenia Charles passed away Sept. 6 at the age of 86. Charles was the first female prime minister (1980-1995) of any Caribbean nation.

Last week, Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist died at the age of 80. Having one of the longest judicial tenures in Supreme Court history, Rehnquist served as Chief Justice for 19 years, but was appointed to the court by President Nixon in 1972.

On Aug. 7, Peter Jennings died from lung cancer at the age of 67. A renowned journalist, reporter and news anchor for ABC News, had he not suffered his untimely death, he quite possibly would’ve given the initial ABC coverage of the devastating hurricane called Katrina that struck, with the greatest force, Louisiana and Mississippi.

On Aug. 9, John H. Johnson, the man who founded The Johnson Publishing Co., which published such ground-breaking African-American magazines as Jet and Ebony, died at the age of 87.

But people less famous lose their lives every day. What are we doing to remember them and the loved ones they left behind?

Even though media coverage displays the countless homes now ravished and businesses currently in ruins in Mississippi and Louisiana, poverty and the poor socioeconomic conditions across America have always been described, statistic after ugly statistic, in the news.

In New Orleans alone, according to the 2000 Census, nearly 30 percent of New Orleans residents lived below the poverty line, and the median household income was just over $27,000.

In Biloxi, Mississippi, according to the 2000 Census, the per capita income was a little over $17,000. In greater Mississippi, the median per capita income was almost $16,000.

In 2003, the average household in Chicago earned $38,625 compared to the national average of $41,994.

According to a March 2000 Current Population Survey, 32 million Americans – 11.8 percent of the population – were poor.

Poverty rates within America continue to climb, unemployment rates within America continue to escalate and the cost of living in America continues to gain momentum.

Where were the massive rallies and food drives for the people living below the poverty line and for those without jobs?

What should we call this stubborn hurricane of poverty in America that just won’t leave?

The outcome of Hurricane Katrina has moved people to ignore race, class, culture and language and open up their pocketbooks, homes, bank accounts and minds to help out others in any way possible.

Katrina has motivated colleges to waive tuitions, banks to grant more generous loans and job agencies to hire in mass. The government has offered to pledge billions, and the medical industry to provide free health coverage to many because of need.

Human empathy and appreciation is truly a beautiful sight to witness, but what about the millions who receive no health care coverage?

What about the homeless, the jobless, the poor and the displaced who aren’t from Louisiana or Mississippi?

Do we have any compassion left for them? Will we hear about their deaths on the news?

Columns reflect the opinion of the author and not necessarily that of the Northern Star staff.