Posted on 09/05/2005 8:21:34 PM PDT by Jeff Head
Over the last ten days I have, with the rest of America and the world, watched a horrific natural disaster and tragedy unfold. I say natural disaster because that is exactly what a hurricane is when it strikes humanity and destroys property and lives and leaves suffering in its wake, as hurricane Katrina did along the Gulf Coast last week. I say tragedy because I have sat transfixed as I have watched as governmental social programs long in place, contributed to the disaster, and as a number of unimaginable and crass mistakes made by those who could have and should have exhibited stronger leadership, failed to do so which also added significantly to the loss of life and to the human suffering.
As I considered this over this holiday weekend, I thought it imperative, if for no other reason than to get these issues of my chest, to write down the lessons I have learned as a result of this disaster and tragedy. Hopefully, there are those who will reads this and benefit from it, most notably my own children and grandchildren and their descendants.
So, here are the lessons, I pray they reverberate within the hearts and minds of those who read them, so that more and more people can avoid some of the circumstances which have led to what will probably be recorded as the worst natural disaster and tragedy in American history.
LESSON NUMBER ONE: When clear warnings of an imminent natural disaster are issued, heed them When the weather service or other agencies, private or public, tasked with making such warnings issue them, take the warnings seriously and move well out of the path of danger. Do not wait for governmental officials to issue a so-called "mandatory" evacuation. Use your own initiative and resource, whatever they may be, to move yourself and your loved ones out of danger. Irrespective of how many false alarms have been raised in the past, irrespective of how well your or neighbor's structures have survived in the past, act for yourself and move yourself and loved ones out of the path of the oncoming danger. Your very life and those of your loved ones could well depend on it...and to err on the side of caution is a good thing in such circumstances.If people (and particularly my own children, grandchildren and descendants) understand and apply these lessons, they will be in a much better position to preserve the life and liberty of themselves and their loved ones. Having done so, they will also therefore be in a position to help, aid, and provide relief to their fellow citizens in the crisis, as opposed to simply becoming another victim unable to help anyone, even themselves.
The specter of those who decided to stay, and who were partying in the path of this storm on live news coverage up to the time the storm began to come on shore, will remain etched in our memory for the rest of our lives. Such foolishness punctuates the need to remember and act upon this first lesson. It is a lesson wholly within each of our power.
LESSON NUMBER TWO: Be prepared. Start now, in whatever sustained way you can. Any preparation is better than none, decent preparation is better than just a little. Realize we live in a world where natural disaster, economic fallouts, upheaval, strife and war exist and can strike us with little warning, leaving our entire lives and livelihoods completely altered in the space of a few days. We should do what we each can, within our respective circumstances, to have food and water supplies set aside to sustain ourselves and loved ones for a period of several months if possible. If possible, have your own well on your property with a manual pump. Also, if possible, have your own septic system.
We should also all strive to have a 96-hour kit set aside for ourselves and each of our immediate families should we have to leave our homes in response to lesson number one above. Such a 96-hour kiy should contain all of the following:LESSON NUMBER THREE: The welfare state of any nation is a destroyer of human compassion and civilization. It teaches people to be (mistakenly) wholly reliant on government and indolent and therefore lacking in the necessary moral clarity when faced with a crisis. Far too many caught up in that life style either turn into a mob seeking only what they feel at the moment is good for themselves, even to the destruction of those around them, or, they are left without the means to effectively apply lessons one and two, leaving them defenseless and at the mercy of the danger itself, of incompetent officials, or at the mercy of the mobs that follow on the heels of such disasters in sections of cities that are largely populated by those dependent on such programs. Avoid such programs and such areas like the plague...because that is exactly what they turn into in such dire circumstances as we have witnessed over the last ten days, particularly in New Orleans.
- Water (Including purification tablets)
- Food (Including high energy and vitamins)
- A good First Aid kit
- Toiletries
- Temporary shelter
- Two or three changes of Clothing, including underwear and socks
- Firearms
- Ammunition
- Spending cash, several hundred dollars, or whatever is possible
- Reading material (The Holy Scriptures, a couple of Classics)
Who will ever forget the site of so many woman, with their children, no men responsible for these families within sight, as they waded through brackish, polluted waters in search of safety? The social programs that were manipulated and changed in the 1960s under Lyndon Johnson's "Great Society" have come home to roost and had their thin veneer dashed by these circumstances, revealing the ugly, festering sores just beneath the surface.
One example, in the 60s, a longer term program that provided governmental relief for children of widows who had been legitimately married, but whose husband had died, was altered to allow any illegitimate children to be included. It wasn't long before more and more desperate woman found that by having four or five children out of wedlock, they could sustain themselves on governmental programs. Men, normally raised to understand that one of their primary roles was to provide for children, found that that role could be supplanted by the government...and so a horrific seed was sown that has resulted in the destruction of the traditional family in a growing segment of American society. It impacted particularly the black family to begin with, but has since spread throughout society...and this is just one example of a myriad of such programs that have had the effect of creating huge segments of society dependent on government for their livelihood, and beholden to politicians whose careers are made by promising more and more of the same. The result is that individuals, families, and entire communities become corrupted...and the outcome is horrific when pitted against circumstances such as Katrina where the foundational building blocks of society such as hard work, strong families, commitment, individualism, creativity and moral strength are indispensable.
LESSON NUMBER FOUR: Large inner cities are breeding grounds for the welfare state. The resulting drugs, indolence, gangs, and other traits make these areas a dangerous place to be at almost any time, but especially during any crisis. Avoid them like the plague, at the mortal threat to your very life.
The site of utter lawlessness, looting, murder, rape and pillaging in the wake of hurricane Katrina has horrified and shocked us all. Much of it is a result of the seeds sown in lesson number three above.
LESSON NUMBER FIVE: Local, liberal politicians are not prepared or equipped to provide help to citizens in a major natural disaster. After their initial (late) warnings, their decisions and indecision resulting from their ideology (which ideology produced the welfare state in the first place), are more apt to significantly worsen the crisis than to provide relief...and this includes planning in advance of such a crisis.
While I am sure there are many civic leaders who will remain unsung heroes in this (such as the numerous initial Coast Guard rescue flights and those who made and coordinated them, I was struck by two examples of this lesson in this particular crisis.
One was the Mayor of New Orleans, at a late date (within 12-18 hours of the storm actually striking, calling for a "mandatory" evacuation. In essence, he told everyone who could get out on their own to do so...and then proceeded to gather large segments of the poor and welfare dependent, at ground zero in the direct path of the storm with little or no food, water or relief for them. The horrific reality was that the mayor could have gotten those people out of there, even at that late date. He had hundreds of school buses that were slated, in normal circumstances, to carry many more children all over New Orleans the next day...and yet they were not utilized but left in their parking lots to weather the storm Instead, he gathered tens of thousands of the most at risk citizens at the Superdome and the Convention Center, or left them in hospitals and rest homes, which later lost all power and water, and were surrounded by flood waters. Left in those circumstances, horrors unparalleled occurred. The pictures of those busses, covered in water the next day, stands at a punctuation and a witness to this lesson number five.
Another example was the governor of Louisiana. When it became apparent how terrible the decision had been to leave the people in the Superdome, she flew there with part of her staff to see for herself how bad the circumstances were. In a later news briefing she described a man holding a small baby who was seriously ill and how that child and many others like it were left in the Superdome and in need of immediate assistance. I could not help but ask myself while she was talking, "Governor, how did you get out?", and, "If you could get out, that sick child could have gotten out". Indeed, the helicopter or whatever transportation the governor used could have been utilized to carry many sick children out of those circumstances. A strong, moral and inspiring leader would have kept themselves and staff at the Superdome themselves, with their security people, and then used their transportation to take out all of the most seriously ill to the safety of the State Capitol from where she later gave the news conference, I was appalled that such a leader could not be found amongst the highest officials of the city or the state. Perhaps there were...but not in the instances I cite here. In addition, the Governor had it within her power, from the beginning to send the Louisiana National Guard into New Orleans as early as Monday to stop the looting. That she did not, and days later complained about the President not reacting fast enough was a classic example of a lack of leadership lashing out at other leadership to fix blame in my opinion. It not on was a disservice to those citizens in New Orleans, it may well have been fatal for a good number of them.
LESSON NUMBER SIX: Federal government programs cannot logistically react quickly enough to provide the level of assistance necessary in the first 72-96 hours. While they may eventually get the needed relief to the survivors (particularly in the hands of a moral, conservative leader), that relief may come too late of good planning and preparation on the part of the people themselves and local leaders is not already in place. In order to ensure the maximum chance for survival, see lessons one and two above and make sure you abide them...better for you and yours to err on the side of caution, than to be caught in such a circumstance.
Finally, on a final note: These are lessons we as a society simply MUST learn and apply quickly. The lessons of the impact this disaster and tragedy has had on our society is not something that is being felt, noticed, and learned from here alone. Our enemies are also watching. It is imperative that we learn the lessons and apply them before any such enemies can take advantage of them
Excellent presentation of thoughts that most of us find hard to express.
From your text I got the message that adults becoming resourceful (instead of waiting around for others to help), is essential to survival and self-respect.
sp
I believe the governor is now politically using the situation to, (1) make poilitical points, and, (2) attempting to cover her own incompetence.
Amen...exactly! See the LESSON SEVEN I added in post 188.
And those very specific mechanisms would be what? Please provide a concrete example of a governor invoking those mechanisms in a way that you consider to be correct.
Could you please provide an example of an actual governor doing this in a way that you consider to be correct? Or perhaps guidelines showing that the way this letter is worded is incorrect, or that it limits the federal government's response in some way?
A single statement taken out of context and refuted by showing and applying the context renders your total showing a big zero.
"The "lowest possible level" doesn't mean that the president has to wait around for local officials' permission to do anything;"
Yes it does as I've pointed out.
"I've already pointed out several times, the state *did* ask the feds to carry out their responsibilities under the Stafford Act."
The LA governor limited the fed response in accord with her worldview. The governor's request was certainly not a blanket request for any and all help available.
"leaving aside what the law currently is, do you think that the federal government should have to wait for a state's permission to take charge of a matter that threatens national security?"
You don't ignore law when it comes to govm't decision and action. National Security is fairly well defined in reality. The happenings in LA did not threaten national security. Those things in LA that might have threatened national security were fairly well taken care of.
My expectation, given the specific language in the other areas would be to see that same specific languiage for the areas in question. There isn't any in the LA Governor's letters.
I would be interested in seeing what the Govenors of MIssissippi and Alabama requested.
My point remains, I believe without specific requests to the same, that the Federal Government cannot (and should not) take control of the National Guard within the state's specific invitation to do so, outside of incidnets that endanger the whole nation. Invasion, national insurrection, etc.
My evidence is simply the fact that this particular area has remained a point of contention with Louisiana. I do not view that as a failing of the Bush administration or the federal response...which I believe is the kernal of the discussion.
In fact, as I have stated, on the whole, given the extent of the damage and the magnitude, I believe the federal response to date has been very good indeed...outside I am sure of some very local and specific issues.
Ping.
Excellent article, as always.
I think advantage of the situation is being taken by those that both desire to inflict as much unwarranted political damage on Bush as possible and those who desire mandatory FEMA take overs.
Obviously this poster who signed up yeserday assumes mandatory FEMA take overs are already firmly established in law. That leaves political assasination as the motive. There's an enormous quantity of well wishing folks that can easily be led to believe that something could have been done by the feds to save something. There wasn't, because the folks in LA chose their leaders who were to be in charge. The folks outside LA are just helpers, not the leaders in charge. The folks outside can be saviors, but only at the local gov's request, or after their failures.
Spot on and very well said.
Did you watch Brit Hume's program tonight? They discussed the inability for Bush to have the Feds take over...unless he forced his way into doing so....citing a specific reason (I forget the word they used, but something close in meaning to civil unrest). I think it was Krauthammer who said that the only thing that Bush would have been able to state as cause was looting...and taking the state over by force wouldn't have been something Bush wanted to do...Fred Barnes said his only mistake was being to complicit with the LA Gov., after asking her to allow the Feds to take over and, a day later, she refused.
Thanks...I hope people everywhere learn the lessons from this tragedy and apply them in their lives and communities.
My access to media is limited, so I've seen very little. I do have radio, so I was able to catch some of the LA officials comments. Before the Katrina's winds even dropped below 60 MPH, some higher end NO libs were yacking out from Chicago to blame Bush for what happened. Hannity just had that itchy scratchy Senator 'toon from NY on, calling for hearings on this. Nonpartisan of course... LOL! No matter what, the libs would get marching orders and talking points. The important part is none of them regard any substantial real failures, just bogus hype.
That's what they are....all hype, no substance. The gov. of LA failed miserably, as did the Mayor...to the detriment of hundreds of thousands of citizens.
Or "bug out bag" (BOB). The problem with either is that you'd better have some place to go, with prepositioned supplies and shelter.
Living in the woods isn't feasable for 99.99% of people.
Listening to Don Rumsfield discussing why the military was a bit slow going in. The first words out of his mouth were,"Well, we need to be invited ...." Then he went on to talk about the prestaging.
Very good?! People who survived the storm died of starvation and dehydration waiting for someone to bring them supplies and/or rescue them. At the same time that the nation was watching people at the NOLA convention center beg for food and water on national TV, the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security was saying that he was unaware that there were people there who needed help. What exactly about that letter leads you to believe that it prevents the federal government from air-dropping food and water to starving American citizens?
Arm and defend all first responders. They shouldn't be held up by shooting.
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