Ok so I have been watching things like CNN, local news, and what not. I have been following the devistation of the south and while my prayers and thoughts are on them I think about how it is impacting our nation. We have the technology for advance systems, we knew this was going to hit and there was fair warning to get out of New Orleans, knowing they are under sea level, knowing that they would fill up like a bath tub. They made a choice...and for some it cost them their lives. I know it is a high poverty area….but what things could have been done to prevent the deaths, to prevent such high numbers of those that are just sitting and waiting it out. People were told to evacuate the city….yet now they are complaining when the United States is slow to aide…..I agree as a nation the response of getting materials such as water and food was slow incoming, but when fear of lives are at risk for just walking into the sitting because of the primitive behavior…it makes you wanna look at what our nation has become. If people can complain about not having a shower for a few days while a dramatic event such as this is going on….what does it say about our culture? There is so much blame being put on President Bush…but he is one person, yes he is in the public eye as being the leader of our country right now…but there are sooo many people that should be doing their jobs….one person doesn’t make decisions for our nation…we elect who is in office…we have a voice…so that blame is on all of us for not being prepare for something like a natural disaster to hit this land. I know many people in the mid-west that are turning off the news and saying this isn’t affecting them, but then they look at the gas price right now, hovering around $3.00. I think as the United States maybe we weren’t prepared for this…the Red Cross is asking for money, but how much of that money goes where it is needed…sure there are thousands of volunteers, but what about those who are on a million dollar salary that comes from those funds…? I know people in the National Guard, I know people that are driving in supplies for near by sites. I know that those people with money and those that had the physical capabilities to get out for the most part seemed to have tried…but when it came time for it to hit land….the ones left were primarily those that couldn’t afford to get out…the major gangs that are down in that area. In the news they brought up that right now this issue of distribution and help is going to those of upper status and those that are not of color…they are making sound like this is a racial issue….when in terms is right now…social status is they are all homeless with equal loss of everything whether it be a brick house or a box….a home is a home and the feeling of lose is still the same….as for the color of skin…how could a person look around and judge something to that magnitude when there are people dying, people sick or injured….there are people in need and color isn’t an issue when it comes to human rights…so people need to look around them and start thinking about life in general looking to the Lord for comfort and guidance. New Orleans may come back in to play with in a few months…but I just question why rebuild a city that is sinking….why let this happen again? Yes I’m voicing my opinion….it isn’t like I don’t care for those that have gone through loss…that I don’t feel for those who have lost everything…I feel for those who are sitting and waiting to find out if their loved ones are alive. I have and aunt and my two cousin’s that live in Mississippi and they have managed to get one call out to a friend so that we know they are ok. I guess I know they should have left…they had places to go, but at the time it wasn’t suppose to be shifting more to the east and it did….they dried out fast….Mississippi isn’t a bath tub….I honestly think that rebuilding would be a mistake, that the mannerisms of people during this time is sad…that there have to be people set up as guards every where just to keep order when there are so many people that still need to be saved. I don’t want you to get the idea that I’m heartless, but I feel that right now that there are reasons for everything….God has a plan and we just need to take a step back and follow.
Feel free to comment….I hope I don’t offend…but o-well that is ok you don’t have to agree with me.
Sorry if this is a bunch of ill-informed crappy opinion…I sometimes ramble lots of thoughts on my keyboard…Oh and sorry for the typos….when I ramble…I type semi-fast…so I don’t forget what I’m thinking…
My prayers go out to all those in need of one tonight!
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3 comments:
Kristy,
You asked for comments, and I thought it only right that I fulfill your request.
1) You write that people made a choice to stay in the bath tub that is New Orleans, but did they really? Put yourself in their shoes: no car, no place to go, no money for hotel, yet the weatherman is telling you to go. Where? How? Eventually they tell you to head to the Superdome, which you do, only to find that the facilities are insufficient and it will take you 4 DAYS for help to arrive to transport you out. Meanwhile, the community around you is being ravaged by looters (some out of necessity, some out of greed) and there are people dying all around you. They have every right to complain about the condition, and rightfully so in my opinion.
2) President Bush is taking a lot of criticism for the hurricane, but consider what he was doing Monday night (according to what I hear on the news): enjoying the end of his vacation at a ranch in Crawford, TX. Is he the only one to blame? Absolutely not, but I think it is a valid criticism to challenge his response. He's also the individual who sets priorities for this government, though those priorities may not match those of the country he represents. Many commentators have been talking about how we can spend 8 billion in Iraq and struggle to respond to a disaster at home. All the while, Lousiana was begging for more money to improve the levy system--but alas, none was there. Does Bush alone deserve to be blamed for the hurricane? NO
Did Bush take enough proactive action to prevent the hurricane from becoming the disaster it did? I don't know, but I can see why he could take some blame.
3) I share your ideas that this is not necessarily a racial issue. Rather, I think it is an issue of "have vs. have nots." Most of those that had transportation got out safely. Most of those people probably had insurance, so even though their house may be destroyed, it can be rebuilt. Most of these people were white. On the other hand you have those that did not have: they were left behind, they were hit hardest, and most of them probably do not have any source of income to rebuild. Most of these people were black. Thought it may not be a case of racism so to speak, it is steeped in racial issues lasting hundreds of years. The problem is that we are all to blame for this matter: if we have, we don't think about those who do not as often as we should. Those that don't have, constantly think about us and how they can have it too.
On that last point, I am as guilty as anyone else. When I got tired of the news coverage, I played video games. Tonight I even went to watch my sister-in-law cheer at a high school football game. What happened on the Gulf coast is a catastrophe, but in Iowa, life goes on as normal apart from $3.00 gas. You are right, we do need to assess ourselves as a country--it is time our egocentrism as an individualistic nation comes to an end. But first I have to learn to do that for myself. Have a good weekend?.
Steven,
I knew I could count on you to voice your opinion too! You makes some really good points.
Nicely put Aaron!
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