Nearly three weeks ago, on August 29th, thousands of our fellow Americans lost their lives. Much of this is due to all levels of the American Government’s failure in its obligation to protect its citizens both before, during, and after Hurricane Katrina’s arrival in Louisiana.
President Bush was on vacation in Texas, and Congress was in recess when Katrina hit. Over the next few days, despite reports of Wal-Mart trucks sending in supplies and reporters covering this disaster’s effects round-the-clock, the federal government refused to send in National Guard troops on the basis that the area was “impossible to reach.” (Concord Monitor, 9/07/05, Page B4)
When Bush (finally) got off his butt and responded, he claimed to be disappointed with how his administration and the federal government handled Katrina and her aftereffects. As we have a Reservist on our staff with friends in New Orleans, here is a question for his Commander-In-Chief: “Where does the buck stop?” He is in charge of the current federal executive administration, possesses what is probably the greatest amount of power on Earth, and is one third of the federal government.
Others are to blame for response failures in Louisiana. The mayor of New Orleans, combined with the dismal efforts of Louisiana’s governor to protect his constituents, should and have been taking media attacks for what happened. The lack of evacuation materials available to the masses of the poor and destitute is astonishing. So to is the lack of National Guardsmen called down by the governor, who dictates when and where Guard members are sent. Both of these people need to reevaluate their lack of foresight, in order to ensure such a horrific mistake will never happen again, and pass that knowledge along to other leaders around the country.
Back to the horrible situation in New Orleans. The Superdome was opened to take refugees in due to the lack of housing for them. When Oprah Winfrey entered the stadium, her video crew caught people vomiting, releasing excrement, etc. The scene, according to one of the Daily Planet Morning Show hosts, was repulsive. At first we resisted blaming the government for this situation, but as time went on, our anger grew.
As stated, Bush is not all to blame; he does meet with international leaders in Texas, and there is little reason to believe he would be substantially more effective in Washington than in Texas. However, since the disaster started, the retail giant Wal-Mart has taken up the slack from the government. In the 09/07/05 issue of the Concord Monitor, one man said “if the American Government would have responded like Wal-Mart has responded, we wouldn’t be in this crisis.” Considering the criticism leveled at Sam Walton’s brainchild in recent months, this is great praise indeed. However, Wal-Mart should not be the first major relief source on-site, and especially not by three days. This is the government’s responsibility.
To our government’s credit, it is now fully engaged in helping Katrina victims, and has accepted approximately 1 million dollars from political foe Hugo Chavez of Venezuala, 1,000 Cuban doctors, half-a-billion dollars from Kuwait, communication technology from Sweden, Germany’s offer of money, and Sri Lanka’s offer of $25,000, despite their recent difficulties. 90 other countries, including France and Great Britain, have also offered assistance to us.
Aid is coming from everywhere, from lemonade stands around the nation to churches and mosques. Hopefully, when combined with the aforementioned and other assistances, our government can make up for their lack of initial response and prove themselves worthy of our votes and respect.