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.