This is just so sad.
I am ashamed and embarrassed by the failure of the Bush administration to adequately respond to the tragedy left by Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf Coast. I am sad and heartbroken for the people who have lost everything, including their place in the world. I am pleased to see Americans and others talking about the issues underlying the federal government's failure to deal with this.
For the past week, I have eagerly, but mournfully, read through the new victim accounts that have quickly found their way to the Internet, despite the obvious challenges of disseminating a story when electricity is down, there is limited shelter, and there is no food or water. I have held my breath as I read them, waiting to hear that something good has happened to the communicator. And I am constantly disappointed because there is no good outcome immediately visible. What could be good right now, with so many suffering, unimaginable numbers dead or dying, imminent disease, the complete destruction of a beautiful city, and the total upheaval of its very congenial people?
Well, there are some possibilities that people are starting to discover as they exchange their feelings of disgust and outrage for the inaction of the government of the only remaining superpower. This failure represents a huge omission that provides an excellent lesson for all of us who have a moment to consider it. I think that all those surviving through the storm were the first to understand the implications of the administration's negligence. I hope that in addition to helping the survivors reclaim some peace in their lives, all of us who are not affected personally can join the survivors in learning the lesson as well.
A very sad statement has been repeated, often and passionately and articulately and sometimes not, online, on the radio, on television in the last week. The government has failed the poor, black people living in New Orleans. It is an abhorrent idea to contemplate because it casts doubt upon so many years of work by so many civil rights activists, and educators, and parents, and children and common American people who have learned to love all their neighbors, regardless of race, over the nation's history. But its validity must be considered because this situation requires our full attention, thought, and response. The applicability of that statement to this situation is not just evidenced by the government's phlegmatic response to the storm; it is obvious in the conditions most of those affected found themselves in when facing an evacuation order with no transportation, no money and no ability to get out. This situation did not just occur because a terribly frightening level 4 hurricane washed over a city. This atrocity was permitted to happen because the government has consistently ignored the need to rebuild New Orlean's levees, to provide better social welfare solutions to the poverty plaguing the sinking city, and to restore the surrounding wetlands that could have bolstered the city's natural defenses, left weak from too many years of plundering oil from the surrounding environs.
Now, finally engaged, the federal government of the US is launching a public relations campaign alongside its dismally tardy recovery effort. Karl Rove is finally attentive to the problem, and has quickly set a new stage. The Republicans will start to blame New Orleans and Louisiana officials for the tragedy. The government will behave as though they have been there, on the ground, assisting the recently homeless and delivering relief. They will begin the masquerade of competence and compassion that has been the hallmark of the past five years of this administration. It is, therefore, imperative that we remember that it is not just a storm that has ravaged New Orleans. It is many years of leaving the most impoverished to fend for themselves, without adequate healthcare, job support, housing assistance, childcare, a living wage, and most sadly but fundamentally, respect.
We have to keep talking about the importance of every person, regardless of color or culture or financial status. We have to demand that a government exists to protect and provide for its citizens when necessary. A government does not exist to make a profit for cronies, and to neglect all those who are merely living as obstacles to greater financial gain. This is not just a matter of partisan politics; it is a matter of right that people have forgotten to assert in the recent past. In our carelessness, the government has nimbly plucked our guarantees of life, liberty and happiness away from us. This is the lesson we can take from this. It is the lesson that we can also share with others as we do whatever we can to help the survivors along the Gulf Coast.
I'll get off my soapbox now. Thanks for reading. One more thing: since the US government has allocated so much money to Iraq and so little to its citizens, public citizens, the private sector, state and local governments and faith-based organizations are humanely trying to fill the gap. It looks like Red Cross could use some help: www.redcross.org
For the past week, I have eagerly, but mournfully, read through the new victim accounts that have quickly found their way to the Internet, despite the obvious challenges of disseminating a story when electricity is down, there is limited shelter, and there is no food or water. I have held my breath as I read them, waiting to hear that something good has happened to the communicator. And I am constantly disappointed because there is no good outcome immediately visible. What could be good right now, with so many suffering, unimaginable numbers dead or dying, imminent disease, the complete destruction of a beautiful city, and the total upheaval of its very congenial people?
Well, there are some possibilities that people are starting to discover as they exchange their feelings of disgust and outrage for the inaction of the government of the only remaining superpower. This failure represents a huge omission that provides an excellent lesson for all of us who have a moment to consider it. I think that all those surviving through the storm were the first to understand the implications of the administration's negligence. I hope that in addition to helping the survivors reclaim some peace in their lives, all of us who are not affected personally can join the survivors in learning the lesson as well.
A very sad statement has been repeated, often and passionately and articulately and sometimes not, online, on the radio, on television in the last week. The government has failed the poor, black people living in New Orleans. It is an abhorrent idea to contemplate because it casts doubt upon so many years of work by so many civil rights activists, and educators, and parents, and children and common American people who have learned to love all their neighbors, regardless of race, over the nation's history. But its validity must be considered because this situation requires our full attention, thought, and response. The applicability of that statement to this situation is not just evidenced by the government's phlegmatic response to the storm; it is obvious in the conditions most of those affected found themselves in when facing an evacuation order with no transportation, no money and no ability to get out. This situation did not just occur because a terribly frightening level 4 hurricane washed over a city. This atrocity was permitted to happen because the government has consistently ignored the need to rebuild New Orlean's levees, to provide better social welfare solutions to the poverty plaguing the sinking city, and to restore the surrounding wetlands that could have bolstered the city's natural defenses, left weak from too many years of plundering oil from the surrounding environs.
Now, finally engaged, the federal government of the US is launching a public relations campaign alongside its dismally tardy recovery effort. Karl Rove is finally attentive to the problem, and has quickly set a new stage. The Republicans will start to blame New Orleans and Louisiana officials for the tragedy. The government will behave as though they have been there, on the ground, assisting the recently homeless and delivering relief. They will begin the masquerade of competence and compassion that has been the hallmark of the past five years of this administration. It is, therefore, imperative that we remember that it is not just a storm that has ravaged New Orleans. It is many years of leaving the most impoverished to fend for themselves, without adequate healthcare, job support, housing assistance, childcare, a living wage, and most sadly but fundamentally, respect.
We have to keep talking about the importance of every person, regardless of color or culture or financial status. We have to demand that a government exists to protect and provide for its citizens when necessary. A government does not exist to make a profit for cronies, and to neglect all those who are merely living as obstacles to greater financial gain. This is not just a matter of partisan politics; it is a matter of right that people have forgotten to assert in the recent past. In our carelessness, the government has nimbly plucked our guarantees of life, liberty and happiness away from us. This is the lesson we can take from this. It is the lesson that we can also share with others as we do whatever we can to help the survivors along the Gulf Coast.
I'll get off my soapbox now. Thanks for reading. One more thing: since the US government has allocated so much money to Iraq and so little to its citizens, public citizens, the private sector, state and local governments and faith-based organizations are humanely trying to fill the gap. It looks like Red Cross could use some help: www.redcross.org
posted by your friend at Sunday, September 04, 2005
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home