This morning on Fox with Brit Hume, one of the guests was ex-FEMA Chief Michael Brown. Mr. Brown defending his actions, pointed to his warnings and was clearly bothered by the finger-pointing post-Katrina by a President's commission.
My feeling was that he was a scapegoat for the whole thing considering his record of relative success post-Hurricane Andrew. The state management during Andrew far exceeded Blanco and Nagin, though, too.
Brit said after the interview and round-up that it is a question of the role of government. Is it the government's job to save locally elected governments from themselves? Are we okay with the implications of this expectation? Should people sit helplessly and rely on the government in times like these?
Juan Williams rightly countered that the communication devices are yet to be in place, that the government must at least have drills for these situations. He is right, too.
If the government is going to have a FEMA agency, shouldn't it at least do the job? Yes.
Should an American citizen be so government dependent that even the fear of death doesn't spur self-protective measures? No. The problem is that many of these people were stupid (could have left but had some invincibility complex or cared more for their couch than their life and stayed despite all warnings) and other people were helpless and stuck.
It says a lot that so many people are disconnected from family, church and community that they had no one to take them to safety. Their only real connection is to the government.
Woe the day when the majority of average Americans views the government as Father. The citizen is bound to be disappointed and left wanting and maybe even abused.
Americans watch with fascination shows like COPs where the police officer sounds more like a parent teaching moderation, than the law exacting compliance. The same people who need this mediation use hospitals for TLC at tax-payer expense, welfare for food and shelter at tax-payer expense, early-intervention to substitute for parenting at tax-payer expense, prisons to teach consequences at tax-payer expense, etc.
The people helpless to change their own situation are conditioned through years and generations of state-reliance rather than self-reliance. It is an abomination. The people that are purportedly helped end up angry because they (wrongly) believe they can't take care of themselves.
Taxes and money spent are the least of the losses experienced. The human potential lost to hopelessness and fear are the real tragedy.
The reason the post-Katrina hand-wringing and populace frustration continues is that most people believe America is better than this. We are. I hope we are.
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