I have not commented much more on the disaster of Hurricane Katrina (both the physical, natural one and the political one), but in the aftermath of Hurricane Rita, I have a few very basic thoughts.
When comparing the "results" of each of these storms to the "outcomes" that followed, there does seem to be a huge disparity in how things really turned out. In my opinion, Louisiana (and New Orleans in particular) were the places where things went the worst. But why? Was the devastation worse there than other places? Were there other factors that made it more difficult to effectively save Louisiana? Did the federal government not care about Louisiana? Was it because the people of New Orleans were poor? And black?
I am a bit frustrated by the political sniping that has taken place over all of this. Quite frankly, I have had plenty of thoughts on the subject, but I just pass on commenting because I think the scenes that have played out on the 24 hour news networks say it all. Compare this hurricane (and the aftermath) to itself. Compare what has followed in Mississippi to the aftermath in Louisiana. Compare it to the efforts that preceded (and likely will follow) Hurricane Rita. Compare it to the hurricane season last year in Florida. To me, it is pretty obvious that the government in the state of Louisiana was ill prepared. Then, as things went bad, the blame game started. Of course, tops on the list of those to blame was President Bush (it just has to be his fault). Yet, we know that the governor of Louisiana (Kathleen Blanco) admits that she should have asked for federal troops and other aid sooner. Senator Mary Landrieu wants to "punch President Bush in the face" (pardon me if the quote is not exactly correct) yet helped to formulate a 250 billion dollar "request" for federal funds to aid in rebuilding. And then there is New Orleans mayor Ray Nagin. Not only has he dodged the questions, changed his answers, and still (to my knowledge) failed to apologize or take any responsibility at all for anything that did not go well, but he even packed up his family and found them a new house to live in...in Dallas, Texas!
We all know that things went bad in the aftermath of this storm. We all know that a country like this should be able to do a better job of assisting its citizens during a crisis. However, as I am certain the eventual "Katrina Commission" will point out, there is plenty of blame to go around. First and foremost, there needs to be some blame placed at the feet of every citizen. There is a simple fact that everyone in the United States needs to realize. That is this: In America, you are guaranteed life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. I think everyone needs to realize that the government cannot necessarily provide this for you, but should work with you so that you have the ability to provide it for yourself. Next, I think that as the "blame" is placed by the media, the talking heads, the race-baiters (sorry, but that is what they are) who called this a black vs. white, rich vs. poor issue, the politicians, and the "commission", everyone needs to be careful about placing it at all. But, as it is considered, all must realize that the federal government (and the Bush Administration) cannot be responsible for the duties of local and state officials. Disaster response can be done better as we have, currently are, and will witness in the future in hurricane devastated areas that are NOT in Louisiana. In the past, funds to improve the levies there apparently didn't find their way to those projects. Funds to help the poor people of New Orleans obviously never made it to them as intended. And days after the disaster, New Orleans was already financially bankrupt as Ray Nagin stated. But where will any of the money that will pour back into Louisiana go?
Political pundits have called Louisiana one of the most politically corrupt states in this nation. As the blame game shows, it might just be true. Regardless of the failures, the political bickering and finger pointing has served no one. And the elected officials who are doing it the most seem to me to be the ones who have failed the most. I hope that their constituents take note of this. God forbid it should matter, ever again. But if it does, hopefully a lesson will have been learned. Not brought to you by a commission, but learned by the actions and deeds of those who are responsible to the people who elected them...at any level of government. And hopefully there will be lessons learned by looking to the examples of recovery that are not front page news or political fodder. Just examples of hard-working people getting their lives back on track.
It is really sad that America is not equipped to handle this type of disaster. Yet, in the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks, it seems that New York City functioned quite well in its response. Perhaps the devastation was not as great or widespread. But it was also not predicted.
We, as responsible citizens and voters, need to elect people who will take responsibility and hold them to those responsibilities. A bit less politics and a bit more leadership would be refreshing and it might just lead to better results if disaster does strike in the future.
Sunday, September 25, 2005
Friday, September 09, 2005
The Katrina Commission
It is obvious to everyone that hurricane Katrina was one of, if not the worst, natural disasters to ever hit the United States of America. It is also apparent that, in the aftermath, there have been many efforts that have gone poorly. However, the ravings of politicians are probably the worst of all of the items that we could sight as "going wrong" in the aftermath of this catastrophe.
There seems to be a movement afoot to blame George W. Bush. Many on the left have come right out and blamed Bush for various portions of this disaster, from the storm itself (ala 'global warming') to the poor response by federal agencies dispatched to the area. While I agree that the federal response may have been lacking, I do not think that it is George Bush's fault, nor the exclusive fault of the federal government. There is plenty of blame to go around.
Actually, there were three events that happened here. The first, the hurricane itself which was predicted and tracked and preparations were made (or ignored) for its arrival on land. The second was the flooding of New Orleans two days after the hurricane hit. Lastly, there was the outbreak of near anarchy in New Orleans by looters and gangs of hoodlums in general.
There has been constant finger pointing ever since as to who did what, who did not do enough (or do it fast enough), and why any of this happened. Republicans called for hearings and Democrats (the Congressional minority leadership specifically) called for a 9/11-style commission. Nonetheless, everyone wants the "truth" as to what went "wrong" and you can bet it will be network sound-bite material and political and election fodder for years to come. But why?
This was a natural disaster, but one that pretty much everyone with a pulse knew was coming. While the breaching of the levees in New Orleans did not happen immediately, that too is a problem that anyone in the area has known was a potential disaster waiting to happen for 30+ years. All levels of government and civil service in the New Orleans area and Louisiana failed and failed badly. And yet pundits everywhere are doing their best job of Monday-morning quarterbacking and there seems to be a push to somehow smear the Bush Administration for it. I really don't care about that. The people doing that are making fools of themselves without my help.
My concern is twofold. First, this goes to show every American that this country is a great place, but that all citizens should be prepared to care for themselves. The government cannot be counted on to protect you from absolutely every bad thing that might happen to you. Common sense needs to prevail starting with every citizen. And that common sense needs to be passed on by citizens to their elected officials. I don't want to place blame, but since it is being done anyway, I say blame all levels of government. Spare no one.
Second, why do the talking heads and politicians (from any party or political ideology) need to clamor for "hearings" or a "commission" before this disaster has been addressed fully and to its conclusion? I think that the situation in New Orleans likely does deserve an inquiry. I really did not see problems like that in Mississippi, which was devastated. Yet, there is a time and a place to sort this out and now is not that time. It is being reported that Mike Brown is being removed from his position at FEMA. Yes, a fall guy already. But a fall guy for whom?
There is no question that this is and will continue to be a disaster, but the way our "leaders" rush to a microphone or camera to preach to us is the real tragedy. Private groups like the Red Cross, the Salvation Army, and many, many faith-based or other community groups are on the scene and will ultimately be the ones who really save the day in the hurricane stricken areas anyway. But government will hold its hearings, empower its commissions, and draw its conclusions (probably at the cost of millions of dollars) only to tell "us" what went wrong and what should have been done. Yet, they won't tell themselves and it likely will not prepare anyone better for a future disaster.
This storm was predicted, and yet 'government' was not prepared and failed on all levels. Is that what we want in America? Is that what we stand for? Will the partisan bickering that has already begun really help better us as a nation? I doubt it. The lesson to be learned will be from the perseverance of those who rise up and continue on after this catastrophe. The lessons to be learned will be taught by the blood, sweat, and tears of the individuals that carry on. Yet the TV will give us the politicos and their incessant ranting about what they know and how it should have been. Well, it wasn't that way, and as Americans we need to remember to be responsible for ourselves and our loved ones and to look out for our neighbors. We can only rely on ourselves.
There seems to be a movement afoot to blame George W. Bush. Many on the left have come right out and blamed Bush for various portions of this disaster, from the storm itself (ala 'global warming') to the poor response by federal agencies dispatched to the area. While I agree that the federal response may have been lacking, I do not think that it is George Bush's fault, nor the exclusive fault of the federal government. There is plenty of blame to go around.
Actually, there were three events that happened here. The first, the hurricane itself which was predicted and tracked and preparations were made (or ignored) for its arrival on land. The second was the flooding of New Orleans two days after the hurricane hit. Lastly, there was the outbreak of near anarchy in New Orleans by looters and gangs of hoodlums in general.
There has been constant finger pointing ever since as to who did what, who did not do enough (or do it fast enough), and why any of this happened. Republicans called for hearings and Democrats (the Congressional minority leadership specifically) called for a 9/11-style commission. Nonetheless, everyone wants the "truth" as to what went "wrong" and you can bet it will be network sound-bite material and political and election fodder for years to come. But why?
This was a natural disaster, but one that pretty much everyone with a pulse knew was coming. While the breaching of the levees in New Orleans did not happen immediately, that too is a problem that anyone in the area has known was a potential disaster waiting to happen for 30+ years. All levels of government and civil service in the New Orleans area and Louisiana failed and failed badly. And yet pundits everywhere are doing their best job of Monday-morning quarterbacking and there seems to be a push to somehow smear the Bush Administration for it. I really don't care about that. The people doing that are making fools of themselves without my help.
My concern is twofold. First, this goes to show every American that this country is a great place, but that all citizens should be prepared to care for themselves. The government cannot be counted on to protect you from absolutely every bad thing that might happen to you. Common sense needs to prevail starting with every citizen. And that common sense needs to be passed on by citizens to their elected officials. I don't want to place blame, but since it is being done anyway, I say blame all levels of government. Spare no one.
Second, why do the talking heads and politicians (from any party or political ideology) need to clamor for "hearings" or a "commission" before this disaster has been addressed fully and to its conclusion? I think that the situation in New Orleans likely does deserve an inquiry. I really did not see problems like that in Mississippi, which was devastated. Yet, there is a time and a place to sort this out and now is not that time. It is being reported that Mike Brown is being removed from his position at FEMA. Yes, a fall guy already. But a fall guy for whom?
There is no question that this is and will continue to be a disaster, but the way our "leaders" rush to a microphone or camera to preach to us is the real tragedy. Private groups like the Red Cross, the Salvation Army, and many, many faith-based or other community groups are on the scene and will ultimately be the ones who really save the day in the hurricane stricken areas anyway. But government will hold its hearings, empower its commissions, and draw its conclusions (probably at the cost of millions of dollars) only to tell "us" what went wrong and what should have been done. Yet, they won't tell themselves and it likely will not prepare anyone better for a future disaster.
This storm was predicted, and yet 'government' was not prepared and failed on all levels. Is that what we want in America? Is that what we stand for? Will the partisan bickering that has already begun really help better us as a nation? I doubt it. The lesson to be learned will be from the perseverance of those who rise up and continue on after this catastrophe. The lessons to be learned will be taught by the blood, sweat, and tears of the individuals that carry on. Yet the TV will give us the politicos and their incessant ranting about what they know and how it should have been. Well, it wasn't that way, and as Americans we need to remember to be responsible for ourselves and our loved ones and to look out for our neighbors. We can only rely on ourselves.
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