Save Our Souls. . .

In times such as these, it’s hard to tell which is the greater disaster; the unbridled fury of nature gone mad, or the oblivious nature of humans in large groups. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Federal Emergency Management agency have both expressed concern over the possibility of a catastrophic hurricane striking New Orleans. The former proposed a study of how the city could be protected in such a situation (research ordered by the current administration not to be undertaken), and the latter stated that it was “one of the three most likely disasters to strike the United States”.

And yet, even amid warnings from the federal government, and FEMA, the city and state government acted as though it were a rather large surprise.

For many days the nation watched Katrina bearing on the Florida peninsula, meteorologists all scratching their heads at the fact that she strengthened over land. She moved into the gulf, defiantly ignoring their predictions, meandering dangerously toward the Louisiana coast as she built to horrifying strength. Thousands were left stranded, unable to flee.

More than four days after feeling the storm’s fury, troops have arrived in the city bearing food and medical supplies while, at the same time, a convoy of busses arrived to begin transporting refugees from the devastated city. Mayor Ray Nagin stated in an interview that the people were “holding on by a thread” and asked, “who can we depend on? Only God knows”. In what could be eligible for the ‘Understatement of the Year Award’, President Bush stated of the relief effort, “The results are not enough”.

Lt. General Steven Blum, commander of the National Guard, said that 7,000 guardsmen would be in the city by Saturday. Not exactly a rousing statement of hope, some people claim, since we seem to be able to deploy thousands of troops to any point on the globe in so much less time. People are quick to say the military operation in Iraq is related to the events in New Orleans, as funds for the city’s flood control projects dried up with more dollars being funneled into the war. What many civilians do not realize is that the military is a rather large bureaucratic beast, and that it takes time to mobilize such a large effort with any real amount of useful precision.

Army Lt. General Russel Honore said that “It’s not our fault. The storm came and flooded the city”. We must remember that the loss and/or restructuring of the wetlands surrounding the city that would have lessened the storm surge was the result of policies set forth not just by the Bush administration, but largely by its predecessor.

Enough is enough, however. No matter the intentions, noble or righteous, we are so imbedded in operations overseas that are ‘ensuring our security’ that we cannot even help our own adequately. A major metropolitan area of over 400,000 people sinks into filth and anarchy within our own borders, and rather than help, people are rushing to blame administrative officials. The entire situation is summed up in the words of a survivor, interviewed in the shadow of the Superdome, “It’s like the people have lost their souls”.

Let the world be, America. The neighbors will be fine. We need to lend a hand and take care of the family.