Post Katrina

Post-Katrina

In the mind-boggling aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, it occurs to me that the government that we have elected to serve and protect us has once again allowed us to see it’s real priorities.  
Never did we think that a large American city could be reduced to the appearance of a Third World country.  Nor, in this day and age of global communication and global satellite imaging, could we imagine this outcome. That the most technologically advanced country in the world could allow members of it’s own population to suffer and die in such horrendous ways is an outrage. Even as the images of the suffering and the outcries of those who had managed to survive Katrina’s initial onslaught were broadcast worldwide, the inevitable finger pointing and spin began.  The agencies in charge of securing Americans in times of disaster each had their own reasons why they were slow to react.  Many even claimed that they had no advance warning of the magnitude of calamity that a category four storm could wreak upon the citizens of New Orleans.  However, in a story posted on MSNBC.com it was reported that just such a scenario was predicted with chilling accuracy.  The following excerpt was the response to the presentation of this possibility:
  
The scenario was dubbed Hurricane Pam: 120 mph winds, a massive storm surge, 20 feet of water in the city, 80 percent of buildings damaged, refugees on rooftops, possibly gun violence that would slow the rescue. "What bothers me the most is all the people who've died unnecessarily," says Ivor Van Heerden, a hurricane researcher from Louisiana State University who ran the exercise. Van Heerden says the federal government didn't take it seriously. "Those FEMA officials wouldn't listen to me," he says. "Those Corps of Engineers people giggled in the back of the room when we tried to present information. "One recommendation from the exercise: Tent cities should be prepared for the homeless. "Their response to me was: 'Americans don't live in tents,' and that was about it," recalls Van Heerden.

Furthermore, requests for federal funding to shore up the levees holding back Lake Pontchatrain were denied.  This was a foreseen disaster!  Why then, we must ask ourselves, was nothing done to prevent it?  Well, let’s first look at the reason’s why Homeland Security failed so miserably.  Given that Mother Nature presents the most real and relatively predictable threat to our collective well being, it would seem that a great deal more of the massive military budget would be allotted to protecting us from her.  It would also seem that advanced warnings by experts in natural disasters would receive a great deal higher priority than the various scenarios for terrorist attacks that somehow seem to never happen.  However, this is clearly not the case.  These devastating hurricanes are happening with alarming regularity.  Computer models also easily provide parallels between global warming and the resulting negative influence on weather patterns.  Again, we have to ask ourselves, why is the United States consistently pushing to weaken regulations governing industrial waste and air pollution?  Can short-term profits really be so important that we are willing to jeopardize our planetary ecosystem as well as the health and well being of this and succeeding generations?  Apparently so.
Also, it is increasingly clear that creating a shadow enemy and inciting fear in the population is a clever and very workable way to elicit funds from Congress to power the military machine.  Take the Star Wars weapon system.  Billions of dollars have been spent on this system with absolutely no discernable results.  These billions certainly could have been better spent not only on real homeland security, but also on education, national health programs, and genuine efforts to free us from our reliance on fossil fuels.  All of the aforementioned uses of these funds would create a happier healthier environment for Americans.  Alas, happiness and health are not what fuels the military/industrial complex.  Rather, it is discord, fear, and an unhealthy reliance on others to protect us from those that would cause us harm.  
I think that the hope of this country and the world is that those of us who care about this beautiful planet and it’s inhabitants need to take responsibility for educating ourselves and for seeing to it that our friends, family, and neighbors are equally educated.  Otherwise, there will be much, much more of the same. A casual look at the headlines will reveal just what that looks like and where it is taking us.