It’s a good thing we’re not being invaded
New Orleans is not that big. The cities and towns that were flattened along the Mississippi River aren’t that big either. Just outside of these cities and towns lies the Land of Plenty: lots of water, lots of produce, lots of people, lots of cars and trucks, lots of social workers and food banks, lots of law enforcement officers, etc.
So why are we STILL waiting for a significant relief effort to reach the victims of Hurricane Katrina?
Every time I hear a news report about the aftermath of the hurricane, two things inevitably happen:
- It’ll be reported that the chaos down there has gotten worse, and
- Folks who are interviewed about the relief effort say that XYZ is on its way and will be there IN A FEW DAYS.
The hurricane happened more than a few days ago, and a few days before the hurricane hit everyone seemed to be convinced that it was going to be really, really bad. So realistically, as of today any relief effort has had well over a week to be arranged and ample time to be deployed. Still, anything our federal government seems to be involved in is perpetually going to take a few more days.
Terri Schiavo lived for 15 days without food or water. I’m sure by now some of the hurricane victims are approaching or passing the latter half of one week. Think about that, then refer back to my first paragraph. Food, shelter, and water aren’t half a planet away, they’re within driving distance.
What I love are the folks who say they can’t bring in supplies because of the water. Got news for y’all, that water isn’t going anywhere any time soon. Besides, New Orleans and the towns and cities that line the Mississippi are water towns. Call me crazy, but I would bet my car and both my Macs that you’d be able to find a boat or two somewhere that could be used to float stuff to where it needs to go.
This is simply inexcusable, almost as inexcusable as the folks who are shooting at the people who are trying to help them. I could launch into a Pat Robertson-esque diatribe of what I think should happen to these folks but I’ll refrain. It wouldn’t do any good anyway.
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p> Like the subject says, it’s a damn good thing we’re not being invaded. If the handling of this hurricane is any indication of how prepared we are as a country, it would probably take well over a week for us to react.]]>
