Opinion: Reactions to Hurricane Tragedy

As the carnage in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina continues to mount, the entire county, even the world, continues its fixed gaze on New Orleans. But with such recognition, whether good or bad, comes great responsibility, and it continues to be clear that all the authorities, federal, state and local, involved have failed to act in a responsible manner. One need to look no farther than the hundreds, if not thousands that the final death toll will surely provide to reach this conclusion. Or simply recall the images of lawlessness that were so abundant in the wake of the storm. It was as if one had somehow wandered into Rwanda or post-war Iraq, not a city in the richest, most powerful country in the world. However, it is true. This is not one of those far away places that we only see and hear about on CNN or Fox News, this is the American south- a place of our own- a place just next door to the president’s own neighborhood. So, how is it that such an event could leave the United States so miserably unprepared to handle the consequences of such an event?
First of all, the obvious lack of preparation is a glaring concern. The floodwalls designed to keep a storm surge from breaching the city were far less than adequate, and the mayor’s office and city engineers were well aware of that fact (when it did, mayor Ray Nagin’s only response to his citizens was to head for the convention center and wait for the feds to arrive). Even so, it is unlikely that they could have envisioned a wall of water coming into New Orleans with such ferocity, although just three days before Katrina made landfall, Max Mayfield of the National Hurricane Center warned FEMA officials of that very possibility. Louisiana governor Kathleen Babineaux Blanco also dropped the ball when she failed to effectively mobilize her state’s National Guard in a timely manner to curb the looting and disorder that ensued, not to mention the necessary rescue operation that could have saved lives had it begun immediately after the storm hit. Perhaps the least prepared though, was the Office of Homeland Security and its now subsidiary, Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) led by the grossly unqualified and dangerously inexperienced Michael Brown. With the exception of damage control and public opinion (which all the president’s men seem to be good at these days) he, along with countless others involved in this mission, have been exposed as incompetent and unable to handle the rigors of emergency management. Last, but certainly not least, President Bush and his administration deserve a great deal of criticism in this matter, considering they took a well-functioning, highly organized cabinet level organization such as FEMA, and reduced it to a nepotistic no man’s land of Bush loyalists all in the name of streamlining the federal government. Effectively dealing with disaster is far more important than budget and tax cuts to satisfy wealthy voters and campaign contributers.
Now the White House is dispatching spokesman Scott McClellan to declare that this is not the time for finger pointing. The vice-president has come out of hiding to say the same, along with all the others, including the aforementioned Brown. Now, in their contentions, is the time for action; the “blame game” can continue once this tragedy has been averted. But, it may never pass. New Orleans will never be the same, no matter how much rebuilding takes place. Years from now, and billions of dollars later, America will still be dealing with this issue. They know that; that is why they want to push back having to account for their failures. But, this is precisely why we, the American public, must press for those responsible to be held accountable for their actions (or lack thereof). Well, now there are no excuses. American civilians are dying by the dozens because a few key personnel have failed to properly execute the duties of their positions, and the rest of us have a right, a duty, to ask questions, demand answers and hold people responsible. Mother nature dealt us a huge blow, and we now have another fight to confront, one on our own soil. It will take major resources and certainly a great deal of time to overcome, and I for one do not want to see any of them wasted by a few men and women who are well-versed in the arts of diversionary tactics and stealth politics. Transparency and accountability are vital and necessary components of our governing system, and it is up to all of us to demand that they are employed. We, and certainly the people of the gulf coast, deserve no less.