This country needs to stop playing the “blame game” and pointing fingers. What’s past is done. Stop the drama and start moving! Action will make people feel better.
There are LOTS of poor people and well-off people who had the wherewithal to look at the news and say, “oh, a Category 4/5 storm I have never been through one of those – I better think twice on this. And plenty of these folks did think twice and left. They are all over the country right now. Some are here in Dallas and have been since the day following the storm. The citizens of Dallas are helping these people. The citizens of America are helping these people.
The people who were left in the city and got stuck in the disaster and devastation are in a world of hurt right now. Some of those people are in a mess of their own making. This does not mean that I do not sympathize and want to help them, but for God’s sake, take a little responsibility and say, “yeah, I messed up. I made a poor choice.” Instead, President Bush is standing up and taking ht responsibility - like the man he is - for the failings of the federal response. Where is that stand form the Mayor and Govenor?
The City of New Orleans should have planned better. If you have buses – city and greyhound, tour buses, school buses and church buses – that have to leave or be flooded, load them up. Don’t drive them out empty! Use those large vehicles – and others like U-Haul vans etc. to evacuate the poor and infirm. And if those vehicles were left behind and flooded out – shame on the Mayor of New Orleans – not the President! You could have made pleas to people to fill their car with a neighbor! Car Dealerships could have offered vehicles (which were going to be totaled in the flood) to people to drive to the next dealership in a nearby safe city! There were plenty of alternate methods that could have been used to get out of a basin waiting for water to fill it up.
Instead, it is easier for people to look at a bad situation and make it worse by pointing fingers and saying “Bush didn’t do enough fast enough”. That is a crock. You all know how long it takes the arm of the Federal Government to get moving. Do you think it moved faster in Indonesia? No, it did not. Look back at the stories and pictures. This is an issue where the first responders should have been the City and State. Their plan was inadequate and it failed. Now, the Federal Government is on the move and getting aid there. It will get there. Is it fast enough to save everyone? No. But, then again, they weren’t fast enough to save themselves either.
What will happen to those people once they are in a shelter? For some of them, it is an opportunity for a new start. And some of those folks will make just that. Get out, take advantage of offers to help, get a job, and get out of the shelter into a short-term apartment – or just start over and bloom where they are planted. Why will they hit the ground running and work hard to overcome this devastation to a way of life? Because they are “doers” and go-getters! They want to be role models for their children or family. And it does NOT matter what color your skin is!
What will others do? Sit around the astrodome or wherever with a victim mentality and listen to Dr. Phil about “post-traumatic stress disorder” and look for someone to blame. Well, there is no one to blame! This was an act of God, people. Get over it and get moving. Would you rather have your kids see you as a hero who worked hard and got a sense of normalcy for the family as the holiday season looms on the horizon, or would you rather they see you as a “oh, poor me” victim who couldn’t get their thoughts together to DO something with life? God Bless that you are alive and have the chance, America is here to help, get moving!
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