It’s been less than a month since a massive tornado hit New Orleans East, and the conversations and posts have almost disappeared. It is mind-blowing. Was the tornado only noteworthy the moment it destroyed a neighborhood? Or are there just more important things to focus on, like the amount of money spent on flowers this year for Valentine’s Day? Because that’s what news stations are covering. 
I went to New Orleans last Saturday to help with tornado cleanup, and it was worse than I imagined. Many houses were roofless and wall-less. Families were trying to salvage what they could — they had to hurry before it became too dark because they were still without power.  
People are still without homes and will continue to be for some time. That’s nobody’s fault, but it happened. Don’t assume because the news isn’t covering the tornado as heavily as they were last week that everything is back to normal. Houses haven’t just reappeared because the media isn’t acknowledging them anymore. 
The society as a whole follows the media, which is extremely problematic. The media outlets you receive your information from — CNN, Fox News, The Huffington Post, Twitter, Facebook, among others — are all businesses. They don’t care about keeping you updated. They want to produce what sells, and they’re going to report what gets the most clicks,retweets and favorites.   
Yes, I’m from New Orleans, but that’s not the reason I chose to write this column. If I was aware of a tornado that severely damaged an entire neighborhood in Lake Charles  and people seemed to have forgotten about it, I’d still write the column. I want people to understand how quickly we move on to the next most talked about thing — whether it be sad, devastating, happy, exciting or entertaining. 
We see something devastating in the news, tweet our feelings and sometimes even vow to donate to relief funds. But, then, the media shares that Beyoncé lost Album of the Year. Now that’s all the media talks about.        
I wrote a column last year about how it seemed everyone had forgotten about the Flint water crisis. This town isn’t making front pages anymore, but its battle for clean water has been ongoing.   
 I can’t lie. Recently, the Flint water crisis slipped my mind as well. It happens to everyone — people get caught up in their own worlds and aren’t as cognizant of their surroundings. However, it’s everyone’s job to remain aware of that human flaw. 
It’s hard be empathetic if you don’t know the struggles people in certain communities still face.   
We need to make it our responsibility to remember what people are going through. I’m not saying we should sit around moping about how terrible things are, but we can’t forget about tragedies we’ve seen, especially in our communities. We’re all guilty of the lack of attention we give certain events. Let’s make it everyone’s responsibility to stay updated and not let the media be the determining factor on whether or not all is good in the world.   
Clarke Perkins is a 21-year-old political science junior from New Orleans, Louisiana.