what the hell?

I'm writing today out of frustration, outrage, and utter disappointment about how poorly our government (from the local level all the way up to the federal level) is handling the situation down in the Gulf Coast after Hurricane Katrina, especially in New Orleans. After 11 September 2001, we (the people, and the government that we elect to represent us) put so much focus, so many resources, so much money, and all our attention on being ready for a disaster. This is a disasterous situation in New Orleans and we can clearly see how our government is, or rather is incapable, of responding.

In a matter of under a week, a major American city has fallen into third-world conditions. At the shelters that the government told people to go to, there's no water, no food, no medicine (not even insulin), no sanitation. All the toilets are full to the brim and overflowing and people are relieving themselves wherever they can find a place. People have already been dying and they will continue to die once cholera starts spreading. Meanwhile, our effort to evacuate the Superdome is being hampered by gunshots. Our government has so little control over the anarchy that gunfire from thugs have intimidated our military into slowing the operation down.

The mayor of New Orleans is so helpless that he pleaded on national televsion last night, asking for a "desperate SOS," as he is out of options. The governor of Louisiana has been on TV several times and it's pretty obvious that she has no plan or idea of what to do. The President himself has done little to comfort those hurt in the coastal cities and has not called for any organized effort to help, other than donating money to relief organizations. This is better than nothing, but the relief organizations don't have the resources or power that the Government has to airlift and helicopter supplies, to maintain order, to repair critical infrastructure (like the levees themselves to start with) to allow relief to happen. This is the government's job!

We've spent all this money on disaster/terrorism preparedness but what did it all go to? Where are the contingency plans? Whether the disaster is natural or man-made, I'm rattled at the thought of how poorly the Government is responding, even after we put so many resources into being "ready". The President said that nobody could have expected the levees in New Orleans to burst. With all due respect Mr. President, yes they did. Even I, an average citizen sitting here down the street from you in Washington knew long before the storm that New Orleans was vulnerable to Category 3+ hurricane storm surges. When the last hurricane struck that area, the media showed animations on their evening news reports as to what could happen. It was no secret -- I even saw a special on it on the Discovery Channel of all places, not to mention there's something out there called the Internet.

I really hope we as a people learn a lot from this disaster. Government (especially freely elected republics like ours) is a reflection of its people, and the reflection that I'm seeing is disturbing. We as a people need to reform Government in so many ways so that they can better serve us than they can right now. There is no excuse for us to sit here helpless and complain when we directly are responsible for what the Government is doing and not doing. Yes, we the citizenry, freely elected our Government, and as a result, we are responsible for how the people of New Orleans are being left to die.

I'm making a vow today to renew my first aid training and CPR certification and stay certified for life. I hope everyone can take a minute today to think about doing one thing to be ready for any disaster that strikes, not just for yourself, but to be able to help your neighbors in need too. If we know the Government can't handle the situation, we're going to have to take care of ourselves.