Posted by
Mike Silverman on Monday, September 01, 2008 8:32:00 AM
A powerful storm is hitting Louisianna. A few weeks ago a powerful storm hit Florida. Testament to the power of God, we have no control over when a storm happens or where it will go. We do, however, have control over how we react to storms. Hurricane Katrina a powerful, deadly storm that struck Louisianna, Missippi, Alabama and other areas along the coast and inland three years ago was not the most powerful storm ever, but it was the most politicized storm ever and through poor management was the costliest ever. Because of bad leadership at the state and city levels of government a lot of citizens embroiled in a massive welfare state from which they never were encouraged to rise out of, primarily in Louisianna ended up suffering far more than was necessary, becoming far more of a burden to reach with assistance. Through abusing relief systems, distorting news reports, and shouting falsely about "racism" and demanding ever more and more money to be sent to Louisianna, particularly New Orleans which continued to mismanage it, politcians, liberal activists, and sadly even some of the very citizens caught in it ended up generating some ill will over a period of time. Eventually enough money got to where it as intended, the reconstruction of large areas of damaged homes, businesses and lands and levees, but to this day it remains one of the most unfortunate displays of rampant abuse, and failed leadership during an emergency by a single state in our country's history. Depsite that..., the good people of Louisianna and other states and good buisnesses dontated time, supplies, money and effort to rebuild New Orleans. Now another storm is hitting Louisianna. And what do we see? Strength. This time we see good evacuation plans, we see strong leadership, we see a state prepared for a potential natural disaster. News and political pundits say it's "Because we learned the lessons of Katrina". The lesson learned by the people of New Orleans was that a Democrat Governor failed them with weak wobbly leadership. Now a strong Conservative Republican leader holds the Governor's residence in Louisianna. The lesson learned is that it is the leaders of our states that are the arbiters of how prepared we are as individual states to handle a critical emergency. Now we have the Republican National Convention occurring this week. Pundits are all over the map on whether it should it go on, or if it should be suspended..., because of a storm hitting Louisianna. If Republicans put the Convention on hold because of this, then they are guilty of politicizing the storm. They will look weak, and frightened. What they should do is acknowledge the people of Louisianna and extend hopes that all goes well with them indicating that the leaders of other states are ready to provide assistance if needed, but also trust in Governor Jindal to handle the emergency processes of his state, and go on fully with the Convention. This is not a tsunami, it's not a volcano going off, its a storm, albeit a significant one. But it will pass, and more will come, hitting various parts of the country at various intervals that we will not be able to control any more than we can control this one. The Presidential race is about far more than what happens with a storm in Louisianna. Though to watch the news, you might not believe it, but life is actually going on in other parts of the country.
- Mike Silverman