Katrina

The wake of Hurricane Katrina has left an ugly, ugly mark in American history. Deep down, I ache when I see the misery transmitted to the cable news networks from New Orleans. There are no words for it and I only see a miniscule fraction of the reality there. CNN and Fox News can only show the world so much. What they have shown is enough to frame a hideous picture of the American underclass. But even more shocking is the response from the rest of the country. From the left to the right wings to blogs to talk radio, I'm bewildered at the discourse and the level of spitting hatred and blame spewing from all factions. It's like America's new passion is volatile hatred.

Before I get to the political discourse of the hurricane, I'll start with the situation on the ground there. Something must be said of New Orleans. I know of no other city in the United States that even comes close to its party atmosphere. With Marti Gras, spring break, and a host of other events, New Orleans has bred a culture of crime. When I was there, I saw people avoid feces, urine, and vomit on the sidewalks as if they were small potholes. Women flashed their breasts to total strangers to get plastic bead necklaces. I saw some people so drunk, walking wasn't even an option so they just sat on the street. All of this behavior is excused because "it's New Orleans and that's what you do." This acceptance of such behavior helps breed crime because the most outrageous behavior is acceptable in New Orleans.

So is it surprising that there are violent criminals running wild, thriving on the anarchy, and taking full advantage of the disaster? Would the same behavior happen in a different city like Houston? I don't know and I hope we don't find out. I'm not seeing reports even remotely like the violence in New Orleans from Biloxi, but that is like comparing apples to oranges. There is no other city even remotely like New Orleans in the U.S. and that's the point.

With that said, I'm still heartbroken that I've heard of rape and murder in the Superdome. I hate hearing about a baby being delivered on a bridge with no medical assistance. People are dying of thirst and it seems as if there is little hope for rescue. I can only speculate the FEMA and Homeland Security are over thinking the situation. I'm not sure if they debating where to put people or what is the best way to get them out. I just know that I've seen the Air Force set up temporary bases within a day so C-130s can bring in supplies in places like Iraq. I know we can do it; all it takes is a simple order. The lack of quick response is disturbing.

Then there is the other side to this response issue. Before the hurricane had even finished its deadly course, left-wing bloggers and columnists and pundits started blaming Bush for global warming and being on vacation. I've read everything from Bush let this happen to punish Kerry voters and to take focus away from Iraq to this is an experiment in martial law as Bush gains more power. The I'm not going to even dignify that level of discourse with a response other than none of that matters right now. Just using the term "global warming" is motivated politically since science can't prove any temperature change on the Earth is caused by humans. Any well-informed pundit knows this and therefore its use has only one purpose: to prove a political point. If there is ever a time to forget politics, it should be now. After the citizens of New Orleans have food and shelter, once there is a long-term plan to take care of them, once reconstruction of the city begins, maybe it will be time to debate who did or didn't do what. I can't believe there are those who would virtually stand on the backs of the miserable to make political points. It's not just the left wing. Just this morning, I heard right-wing discourse about the corrupt government of New Orleans and the history of criminal state governors. Again, there will be time for analyzing things after this is over. But as long as there are people literally dying in New Orleans, it is most inappropriate to talk of such things. Period.

Here in Texas, Dallas and Houston are trying to do the best they can at the Astrodome and Reunion Arena. But there is not enough food here for those people and certainly not enough medical care. Conditions may improve as the word gets out, but the effort is important. Other states could help, but the ultimate strategic responsibility falls on the federal government who runs FEMA. But again, I hear Texans complaining about the money this is going to cost the state. I don't understand why that's even an issue. Would these same people leave somebody injured on the side of the road because they were late for work? Maybe so. I just don't think now is the time to put money before people. Bush promised billions to Africa for AIDS research and was criticized for it not being enough. We gave billions in aid to Indonesia after the tsunami. Where is the same level of effort? Why aren't Hollywood stars calling for help? Why does the United States take care of everybody else in the world before we take care of ourselves? If you can answer those questions, then you have more insight into our culture than most. Most people just want to complain and blame.

History will not be kind to players in this disaster. The state and city governments in Louisiana will be marred for decades of squandering money on everything but infrastructure. The federal government will appear negligent for wasting time figuring out how to figure out what to do. But more than anything else, history will record that the people of New Orleans looted, rioted, murdered, and raped each other as others in the country used the disaster as an opportunity to push political agendas. Disgusting. This is not the America I know and love and it's heartbreaking to witness it happening.

Katrina is not only the worst natural disaster in our history; it's also the worst cultural disaster.

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