Katrina
Sorry I haven't posted in a couple weeks. Last week we were on vacation, and this week I've been consumed by trying to keep up with the coverage of the unfolding disaster in New Orleans.
A lot has been said already by people a lot smarter and more knowledgeable than me, so I'd suggest reading your favorite news sites and political blogs if you're looking for in-depth analysis.
Meanwhile, a few thoughts:
1) The most important lesson from this catastrophe is that, in the four years since 9/11, we have not learned anything about dealing with urban disasters. We are unable to completely evacuate a city and maintain order, despite the fact that we had several days warning of this hurricane, and despite the fact that scenarios of this sort had been predicted for years. If, god forbid, an earthquake or nuclear/chemical/biological attack were to strike a major U.S. city without warning, we would likely see the New Orleans disaster unfold again, except on larger scale.
2) A lot of attention has been paid to the looting and disorder, but I think far more serious is simply the lack of basic necessities of life - water, food, ice, basic medical supplies, etc. It is unconscionable that the children, pregnant women, the elderly, and the infirm should have to go without water or necessary medication for days at a time. People should not die of thirst in this country, ever.
3) A few people have implied or stated that if the people of New Orleans had been more prepared - with emergency supplies - or had just followed orders and evacuated when the call went out, this could have all been avoided. This completely misses the point that the people still in the city are those in poverty, who did not have the means to escape or prepare in advance. An emergency kit full of water, food, batteries, etc. which have to be kept fresh is a luxury poor people cannot afford. It's also of little practical use when your entire house is underwater. As for evacuation, these are people without cars or without money for gas. Believe it or not, some people actually rely on public transportation to get around.
The lesson is that government, whether local, state, or federal, has to step in and help those who cannot help themselves. This is not simply a matter of individual sacrifice and bravery by police, firefighters, doctors, nurses, and soldiers. Someone at the top has to plan this in advance. The free market can't evacuate a city - the government has to do that. Disaster planning and preparation is right up there with maintaining law & order as one of the very most basic functions of government. And this week in New Orleans, government on all levels has failed at both of those basic tasks.
4) Finally, I'm not looking to blame anyone in particular. This is a profound problem that cuts across both parties and all levels of government. But right now, the Republicans control the Federal Government, so they have to accept that they will get a lot of heat, and that the proper response is to fix the problem rather than making excuses or deflecting blame. None of the Federal officials involved have come across looking good. Once this passes, heads should roll.
Anyway, at this point I'm just not hopeful that anyone really has a handle on this situation and knows how to move ahead. For the residents of New Orleans, your nation has failed you in your time of need, and I only hope that things can somehow be made right.
6 comments:
I mentioned this a bit on my LJ, but what really gets me is the lack of coverage this is getting. This is going to affect way more people than 9/11 did, and yet it's not getting anywhere near the coverage on the networks, and I don't quite know why. I can think of a couple possible reasons, some maybe valid, some not (Maybe a terrorist attack is somehow more important than a natural disaster? Maybe they don't care because it's in the South and the people are poor and black? Maybe they think that by this point, everybody has cable?), but it's just strange. Especially considering that it's summer and prime-time is mostly reruns anyway, it's hard to understand.
I agree completely. I said basically the same thing to Annie last night, when the network news ended after 30 minutes, followed by 30 minutes of local coverage. On 9/11, the coverage was 24 hours, commercial-free. There are a number of reasons for this, I'm sure, some legitimate (more media in NY than New Orleans to start with, which makes coverage easy), some not (poor black Southerners suffering doesn't get good ratings compared to white middle-class New Yorkers).
Mostly, I think it's just a function of the fact that most people (myself included) are only now realizing just how bad this is, whereas on 9/11 people knew instantly.
Well, that's true, I was just saying to Marisa this morning how strange this feels, just because it's so unusual for this big a story to be this slow developing. Since at least Wednesday, though, it's been obvious that it's a big deal, and they've added a few one-hour newsmagazine type shows about it, but nothing like 9/11. The stupid part is that with 9/11, there really wasn't a whole lot new going on 5 days later, while in this case the situation is changing all the time.
On a completly unrelated note, do you think there's a chance you might take up us on our offer to give you food/shelter/anything your heart may desire? If it's a matter of you guys not wanting to for a specific reason (don't want to take the time, don't like us, etc.) that's fine, but I just didn't want it to be a matter of "oh, we totally would have but we forgot to ask" or something. With the gas money you're gonna spend, I figure you could use the free food, and we'd enjoy seeing you. I'd just like to have some sort of advance warning of the possibility, so we can get some cleaning done early and not be forced into a hours-long marathon of scrubbing.
I'd certainly like to see you guys (though I'd hate for you to do hours of scrubbing on our behalf). But it's really a matter of how long we're in Indianapolis and if Annie feels up to it. With the pregnancy, she gets very tired, so after driving to Indy and back, she might just want to crash at home. Which is a long-winded way of saying that it's really her call, so you should talk to her about it.
Well, I did mention it in my e-mail to her, but she never responded, so I didn't want to assume she'd read it. But, yes, I of course totally would understand if she wanted to just go home (especially if you're still forcing your pregnant wife to do all your driving, you punk!). Anyway, we'll mostly be around all weekend, so even if it ends up being a last minute decision, feel free to give us a call. Knowing Marisa, we'll probably end up doing the scrubbing anyway.
Oh, and as added incentive, we have a gift for Annie (and you, too, I suppose, although I'm thinking you won't really care about it). We can always save it for another time, though, if need be. OR CAN WE?!?!?!?!?
Okay, I just talked to Annie and she said that it's a definite no for this weekend. There just won't be time. Sorry. Hopefully we can do something next week or the week after instead.
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