I always thought it was just me. Or it was just my family. But it turns out the entire country is no really sure Alaska belongs to America so why worry about it when tragedy strikes.
When hurricanes happened in the south, everyone rallied to help. Hawaii is America’s beach so of course it will be supported through volcano eruptions and other nasty forces of nature. But Alaska – we have a 7.0 earthquake and it barely makes national news for more than one day.
I realize that Alaskans are used to this. We don’t wait for others to help us. We help ourselves. We gather our duct tape and blue tarps and we fix whatever is broken. We don’t wait for the feds.
But it still hurts to not have the rest of the country express as much concern and care for us as it did for South Carolina or Hawaii when their disasters hit.
There was a time when I thought this was because Alaska was so far away from the rest of America that it was hard for the country to see us as part of their whole. But then, Hawaii is even further and Americans have no trouble identifying that state as part of America.
So, Alaskans, when the 5.0s hit, like they did this morning, be grateful you are surrounded by other Alaskans. You’ll never be alone or in need. We will always check on each other. And screw the lower 48!