Well, I've made my feelings regarding the recent disaster along the Gulf Coast known mostly through the writings of others. This is due to a few factors. These include time constraints, lack of a computer of my own, et cetera. Of course, I've been impressed with the articles I've posted - that's why I posted them here. Anyway - the time has come for me to air my own thoughts...
Certainly the storm that hit the Gulf area was stronger than any in the US have witnessed in a while. However, it's also true that most of what we've all seen in the media in the past few days is due less to the force of the storm and more to 1) the lack of planning and preparation and 2) the lack of a sufficient response.
I feel like echoing a bumper sticker I saw recently on a car in the Fredonia parking lot:
IF YOU'RE NOT OUTRAGED, YOU'RE NOT PAYING ATTENTION!
If you HAVE been paying attention, you'll know that computer models have shown for years exactly what a hurricane of Katrina's intensity would do to the levee and flood wall system of the city of New Orleans. That's why books and articles with titles like "Drowning New Orleans" have appeared on shelves going back a number of years. They weren't science fiction stories. They were based on real evidence. Obviously we don't have enough federal funding to address every single disaster scenario that could - hypothetically - take place. BUT - this is one that was eminently possible and even probable, especially given the increased number of hurricanes likely to develop in an increasingly warming ocean. Oh wait - that kind of acknowledgement of global warming (AKA "Climate Change" for you Cato Institute devotees...) would require a different administration. The severity of the weather that we deal with will only increase as we allow people in positions of power (politicians and corporate executives) to further neglect the environment.
There are a lot of theories going around on the airwaves and on the printed page. I'm not sure I'm ready to seriously suggest that Republicans in charge of allocating funding for such things consciously said something to the tune of "screw New Orleans - they vote for Democrats when they vote at all...," but you know - I'm not ready to summarily dismiss such a notion either. Certainly the images on our screens of the displaced "urban poor" (who, if you missed it, happen to be overwhelmingly black) did not seem to trigger a lightning fast reaction from Mr. Bush or anyone in his administration.
Perhaps the images of blacks in need in our own country are just as easy for people in power to ignore as are the images of blacks in Africa. After all - July's Live8's principal purpose was for the G8 nations to cancel African debt - a plea that only the United States President was able to almost completely dismiss (check the figures of what Bush promised, and compare them - proportionally - to those of the other G8 countries if you don't want to believe me).
Don't think I'm only indicting Republicans, or accusing them as a group. Democrats have looked at the urban poor as a voting block and only as a voting block for too long, taking them for granted because - after all - where else are they going to go? The Republicans? Surely not. Instead, they will more than likely stay home, believing that no one will actually help them. Hardly anyone in a position of power seems to see people as people anymore. Marketing executives and businessmen see people in terms of dollars and politicians of all stripes see people as votes for and against them. It is their nature, and they must fight hard against it.
I have some reluctance about this prospective Washington internship in the spring (something that I have yet to finalize, by the way). The reluctance stems from my belief that my remaining idealism will be shattered working in a Democratic congressional office as I see firsthand the willingness to compromise things that should not be compromised, all in the name of a few dollars of campaign contributions, or in the interest of getting support for some other piece of legislation. Some people believe that you need to become part of the political system in order to change it, but I'm not sure that this is true. Democrats have become adept at talking about the problems of the poor, and they even manage to do some things in the social welfare system when they're in power. They have their limitations though (see Hilary Clinton's bid for universal health care in 1993-1994, opposed by the American Medical Association just as firmly then as FDR was opposed by the AMA in the 1930s).
I'm getting off topic now...
There will be those people who shake their heads and wag their fingers, saying that the political Left is "playing politics in this time of tragedy, when we all need to come together." This, if you can't see through it, is utter bullshit. It allows those in power to shrug off all legitimate criticism as illegitimate attempts to cash in on others' misery. It is the same tactic that would have been employed after 9/11 had it been necessary. It wasn't necessary, since the Democrats - almost every one of them - rolled over and spread their collective cheeks. Sorry if you don't like my imagery. One person who didn't is Russ Feingold, Senator from Wisconsin. He may be the candidate to watch in 2008. He was one of the only people to oppose the congressional resolution authorizing the use of force in Iraq.
The truth is that for the most part, we're really NOT coming together. Sure, we're sending money and donating water and all that. All those things are designed to let us say, "oh, isn't that terrible" while we feel good about ourselves for "doing the right thing" and then we can stop thinking about it altogether.
There will be quite a few people who compare this disaster with the tsunami in East Asia last December, and say things to the effect of "well, if we can take care of foreigners, then we should be able to take care of our own people." This, of course, is distorted morality. What makes people in one country more valuable than those of another?
My father recently brought me the story of one of his friends whom he has grown apart from in recent years. The friend helped build the house where I grew up. He said that this was God's way of wiping out some of the riffraff and undesirables - the poor niggers that had it coming. Some people wonder at times how I developed a negative opinion of organized religion and Christianity in particular. It is because of people like this, who go to church every Sunday and count themselves among the most pious and the most qualified to point out the wrongs of others. And this all takes place when some of the most spiritual people we have in this nation or any other - that is to say the economically depressed blacks in the South - are praying their hearts out and praising the Lord. The irony is just too much for me, and my eyes roll almost to the back of my head.
I don't want to seem like I'm dismissing every religious person, since if that were the case, I would be just as guilty as the bigots I despise.
The nation as a whole is not as well off as people would like to believe. We are still deeply divided by race. We certainly don't talk about it as much as we used to, and perhaps that leads to the perception that everything has changed since the Civil Rights movement of the 50s and 60s. That perception is false. People know what they're supposed to say and what they should say, but that doesn't mean that they believe it. You'll see that when minority candidates run for national office. In the privacy of the voting booth, the ugliness of our prejudices will be on full display.
The point that Paul Krugman made in the op-ed piece I posted last week is one of the best I've seen made. The simple truth is that if the the situation in New Orleans had happened in Maine or Vermont or some other predominantly wealthy white area, the response would undoubtedly have been faster. You may brush such assertions aside if you like, but give them some thought before you do. Poor people are our cannon fodder. They serve and protect us. I'm not talking about Iraq - they would be advised to protect themselves over there, but of course they're not really enhancing our security, and nothing anyone says will make me change my opinion about that. I would love to see a study done on the economic status of people that enlist in the military. The results would be laughable in a horrible sort of way about exactly what they portray about our country, but they would also be incredibly predictable. If you don't know what I'm talking about (and the very mention of this movie will anger some), check out that scene with the military recruiters in Fahrenheit 9/11.
The poor are the labor that grease the proverbial wheels of our capitalist consumer-driven economy. Not just the poor in this country but the poor of all nations. That's globalism for you.
Happy Labor Day.
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