5 years ago Katrina made history in the Gulf Coast. As the days lead up to the hurricane, people were told to get out of the area. People were told to evacuate, that this was a killer storm, a Category 4 as it crossed the Gulf, it was strengthening and was forecast to hit Category 5 before it came ashore. Unimagined power in the form of wind and water.
People didn't leave. They didn't want to leave their homes. They had stayed before during storms. They had no place to go. They had no way to leave. Whatever the excuses, reasons, or thinking about the storm, the bottom line is that people didn't leave.
God spared the city a direct hit. Mississippi got that honor and it was bad there. But New Orleans seemed spared. Then, the water breached the levees and all bets were off. As people died and more were stranded on rooftops and in precarious places, a strong sense of victimization arose.
We began to hear cries or complaints that President Bush was not helping enough that the government wasn't there fast enough. Funny thing was, we only heard that from New Orleans. We didn't hear that from Mississippi. Throughout the rest of President Bush's term, the left and his detractors couldn't say enough that Katrina was his failure.
I have to ask, really? was it REALLY President Bush's failure?
- Is it President Bush's fault that the people stayed instead of heeding warnings?
- Is it President Bush's fault for not using the buses as was the plan.
- Is it President Bush's fault that these people were hungry and were stealing TV's.
- Is it President Bush's fault that the cops turned into looters of clothes cameras, TV's etc, etc as the citizens they swore to protect and serve were hungry?
- Is it President Bush's fault that the Mayor and Governor were phenomenal incompetents?
The direct and blunt answer is NO. It was not President Bush's fault. President Bush urged Governor Blanco to declare an emergency and order a mandatory evacuation. He offered help and at first, she refused. She refused the Red Cross access to the cities. Mayor Nagin got himself and his family out of New Orleans, but neglected to get the school buses moving to pick up people without cars, as was planned in the evacuation strategy. They were criminally negligent and yet, Nagin was actually re-elected after the disaster.
Why then do people from NOLA continue to demand help and live in FEMA trailers? After-all, Mississippi had it bad too and no one is crying about Biloxi on the evening news. In my opinion, it is because those who are still considering themselves victims 5 years later ARE victims. They are victims of the bloated Federal Welfare state. They are victims of multi-generational governmental dependence. They are victims of their own lassitude and lack of gumption.
I was listening to the news last week and there was a City Councilman from NOLA being interviewed. He was complaining about how the government needed to send help to the city because there are people who want to come back to the community and the community is so tight-knit.....blah blah. But, they need help because some lots are still empty and they need someone to send help to cut the grass..."just to cut the grass". I got so disgusted, I turned off the news.
Here is a flash of thought for this City Councilman in his district that is such a close-knit community - YOU cut the grass, or organize a group from the neighborhood to take care of the vacant lots. Help yourselves. Stand up and make an effort to do more than cash that government assistance check. The community did it in Mississippi. Communities all over Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas and all of the mid-west do it every year after tornadoes and floods. They help themselves and their neighbors because THAT is the American way.
If New Orleans wants to return to be a great American city, she will have to find her guts and self-determination rather than continuing to whine and moan about being a victim. To those citizens who are going nowhere, get up, turn off the T.V. or the radio and DO SOMETHING to improve your situation. That might mean living elsewhere to earn a living. Whatever it takes. That is American courage.
