Katrina thoughts
There is only really one thing to write about and that is Katrina. I guess the worse case scenario pretty much did happen. I have never been to New Orleans or that part of the country so as difficult as it is to comprehend the destruction it is probably even more than I can imagine. I try putting it in terms of cities I know but even that probably falls short. The scenes of people walking around having lost everything, clearly traumatized by the disaster, are just gut wrenching. It reminds me of the scenes we have witnessed in Iraq, the Balkans and Somalia. It is hard to imagine how the city can be rebuilt but it surely will be. San Francisco was rebuilt after their great earthquake. Chicago was rebuilt after the fire. Other cities have been rebuilt after seemingly insurmountable destruction.
Of course there is the predictable finger pointing. The feds didn’t get there fast enough. Communication wasn’t good. The war in Iraq took resources away that could have helped. The Bush administration cut funding for levee improvements and so on. The bottom line is that this storm was so destructive that other than a complete evacuation very little more could have been done. Disaster relief always goes badly, not just here but around the world. People are left out. Things get forgotten. Lessons are learned.
It is easy to think we are so civilized here. We see mob scenes in 3rd world countries and think that would never happen here, after all we are civilized people. The looting and mayhem seen in New Orleans though just goes to show that people are people everywhere and what keeps us from being like those we see elsewhere on TV are not our superior morality but rather are the blessings and the good fortune we here in this country have been given. The utter lawlessness seen in the aftermath was surprising to many but yet it shouldn’t be. We have seen it on a smaller scale before at other disasters, sporting events and court verdicts. Still though it is appalling to see people who have all been through the same tragedy commit murders, rapes and looting. By looting I mean carrying away big screen televisions and the like. I can understand the taking of food and water from stores for survival but the assaults, rapes, murders and destruction are just inexcusable. It just goes to show how precarious our society is and makes me wonder what would happen in other situations such as a massive terrorist attack, a catastrophic earthquake or some economic collapse. However there are some harsh realities that have to be looked at in New Orleans. There were civic failures there. One thing that made the lawlessness worse was that there was the local authorities obviously had little credibility. The police department there has long had the reputation, and apparently deservedly, as being among the most corrupt and least respected in the country. That certainly didn’t help. The mayor was certainly no Rudy Giuliani and the governor was no George Pataki Things seemed to go better in Mississippi where Haley Barbour showed strong leadership from the start. New Orleans also has long had a crime problem and the lack of leadership only emboldened the criminals. However we have to remember that those were only a minority. The vast majority of people only want to be safe.
There are heartwarming stories though. Without doubt we will eventually learn of the heroism of many in New Orleans during the hurricane over the next months. We do know though that the people of Houston and other cities by accepting the victims have been fantastic and certainly the rest of the country will come through as always. It appears that once the military and the national guard got there they got the job done.
Lessons learned though have to include the importance of getting a military presence on the ground ASAP. There is no reason why people who have already endured a catastrophe have to also endure fear for their lives from others. The bureaucracy of disaster relief has to stop. Get people in position and empower them to make immediate decisions.
Unfortunately there it appears some in the Churches of God have to learn compassion for their fellow man. There was a couple of what I thought were entirely inappropriate statements from the leadership of the Living Church of God. As Ecclesiastes states, there is a time and place for everything but this is not the time to assume God’s wrath struck New Orleans and lecture about their sins. This is the time to talk about God’s mercy, His love for mankind, what our love for our fellow man should be and how we should help both in word and deed. How someone can watch what has gone on and not feel the immediate need to pray for them and to help but rather to preach is beyond me.
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