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September 2, 2005
Where IS the federal government?
Hurricane Katrina has cried herself out, the winds long dead, but the drama that is Katrina is still unfolding for the costal cities which bore the brunt of her destruction. The stories are heart-wrenching to say the least; hungry, sick, hot, desperate people living in conditions likened to a third-world country, waiting for any help available. Cities and States have exhausted their resources. The cry has become deafening, everyone is asking "Where IS the federal government?" Women are being raped on their way to restrooms, men are being robbed, Police officers are hostages in their own station, gunfire, looting, crime is rampant. And just where is the federal government anyway?
The federal government is made up of people, people with powerful jobs, but people no less, just like you and me. They command troops, they control large amounts of money. Money they get from you and me, those of us who file our 1040's every year and hope we will be receiving a check instead of writing one. Those of us who read our paystubs every week and complain about how much of our check disappeared into the hands of the government.
I would like to ask another question. Where ARE the Americans? In the days following 9/11 we heard story after story of courage, of people just like you and me who did whatever they could to help those affected by the terrorist attacks. During the massive power outage in 2003 which affected New York City, as well as many other cities in the eastern part of the country we heard stories of Americans banding together to make the best of a bad situation. Now we have thousands and thousands of Americans who have lost everything. Everything except their lives, and their character. These people are living in deplorable conditions, but they are still Americans and they have the ability to band together to help each other in the midst of chaos. Where are the men of character who are willing to stand guard over the ladies restrooms? Where are the moms who are willing to band together to give each other a chance to rest? Where are the stories of courage, of Americans doing what they do best?
I saw a tiny example several months ago in my little town of Cookeville, Tennessee. As I was driving down a city street there was a van coming the other way, flames bursting out from underneath. I turned around to see if I could get the drivers attention, but by the time I caught up with it, other drivers had already accomplished that. I pulled out of the way and watched as ordinary citizens became emergency responders. Some jumped out of vehicles, fire extinguishers in hand, others helped ensure the occupants were out of the vehicle and clear of the area, cell phones were used to call 911. Employees of a nearby restaurant emerged with more fire extinguishers. A man and woman dressed in their Sunday church clothes were directing traffic away from the area and clearing it for the emergency vehicles which would be arriving shortly. The fire was out before the fire truck arrived on the scene, the impromptu traffic controllers waved for me to go, and I followed their directions. Inside I was bursting with pride for the community I live in.
We look to the federal government in extreme situations, but at the heart of the government is a mirror, and looking back from that mirror is you, and me.
Posted by Anna at September 2, 2005 9:46 PM
Comments
Where is the Federal Government, they are there slow out of the shoot but still there. My question is ....Where was the local government? I am an emergency worker in more ways than one and I know every local government should have a disaster plan ready to be implamented as soon as the disaster arises. In my opinion I feel both the City of New Orleans and the State of Louisana both dropped the ball from the get go and are crying the loudest to get the attention off of them. Their resorces should have held out for at least the first 24-48 hours because we all know it takes time for the massive machine called the federal government to get wound up but once it starts moving watch out because it will move fast and efficentally (so to speak). Another thing that appals me is the way people preyed on the weaker like you said we need to band together in times of emergencies and not a one of those people there did .. it was a everyone out for themselves cituation. New Orleans has been toted as one of the most crime ridden cities from the local government to the majority of it's citizens, this event has shown me that it is true. Hopefully we can all take note of what has happened here and know that WE need to make sure we can fend for ourselves for the first day or two if a major disaster should occur where we live, and hope that our local governmenthas a plan that will hold up till the federal machine gets rolling.
Posted by: curious_george at September 3, 2005 9:00 PM