Exactly so.
Texans look around, see something that needs doing in the best interest of the community, and then go do it - despite the cost.
What happened in New Orleans was a bunch of the elites looking around, deciding what was in their own personal best interest, and letting everyone else fend for themselves (i.e., left them to drown in NO).
The difference may seem small on paper, but the resulting actions couldn't possibly be more disparate. Texan citizens were loading up their neighbors in their own vehicles to get them out, they towed disabled cars out of harm's way, those that had excess gasoline or food and water shared it, and those that were evacuating that had room loaded up those people they found stranded on the freeways. We knew the government was busy helping those that simply couldn't get out on their own.
We in Texas do not depend on the government to save us. I pray that we never do, because when you do, you run the risk of the government abandoning you, as it did in NO.
I agree with every word of that.
But I see no reason to go back until the authorities say it's SAFE.
I think I should mention a few facts about Texas for those people that aren't all that familiar with the place.
Every form of poisonous plant, venomous snake, or lethal insect in North America has some members of their species living in Texas. (Yes, including liberals and Democrats.) Most dangerous animals also live here, including feral hogs, alligators, and bears.
Texas is subject to every form of natural disaster found in North America except the avalanche and the volcanic eruption, and I'm sure that if we give nature enough time she'll figure out some way to send us those, too. We get bitterly cold (even by Canadian standards) winters up in the Panhandle; we get earthquakes in Fort Worth; we get wildfires in the central portion of the state. We have West Texas, which is second only to Death Valley and certain parts of Arizona in terms of heat and the number of people it kills.
Accordingly, disaster and danger are not unfamiliar visitors to Texas. We deal with it on a daily basis. This is life in this state, for good or ill, and it requires people that help their neighbors and band together for the common good. Failure to do so can be fatal for everyone concerned. Waiting for someone else to come bail you out can be fatal in Texas, and everyone knows it. You have to be able to deal with catastrophic problems either on your own or in company with your neighbors. You help those that can't, for whatever reason, because next time it could be you, and you know the cavalry isn't going to come in the nick of time and save the day.
This is part of why Texans are the way we are.
Would you care to bottle this attitude and export it to every other state in the Union? It would restore this nation's greatness to previous levels. At the very least, it would annoy the Europeans. ;)