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Sep. 6th, 2005 12:27 pmI'm quiet on Katrina because it hurts too much. Lives are in jeopardy that should never have been at risk. There is just too much suffering for me to get a handle on. Maybe I can begin to understand why the world shut its eyes somewhat in the late 1940s, if even Katrina is too big, emotionally, to understand.
I don't understand FEMA: for me the reason we have government is to provide for the common good. Story after story has come out showing that in case after case, FEMA has lessened the common good and made the common need greater. The USA is rich and its people are generous: if only FEMA and its mates had their acts together, poor countries like Afghanistan would not have had to send help. I will not even get *into* to horrific examples of callous political spin that have been floating round.
I have been watching this closely since before Katrina hit and I am *so* tired. I will stop blogging about it. There are a lot of people out there saying things that need to be read, though. Try http://sciencepolitics.blogspot.com/2005/09/best-katrina-blogging-so-far.html for starters.
And for the next person who tells me "The US is the world's wealthiest country. It is a superpower. Stop worrying." I would really like you to think for a moment that that real people have suffered and are suffering unduly through insufficient help and perhaps also to dwell on the thought that unless this crisis gets sorted quickly and effectively the powerhouse of the world economy will be in trouble. If the US sneezes we catch cold, remember, and this is rather more than a sneeze: it is poorer countries who will pay most if recovery drags. The faster the port of New Orleans is up and running the better for the rest of the world. The more slowly the emergency is handled, the more the virus of desperation is going to spread.
I don't understand FEMA: for me the reason we have government is to provide for the common good. Story after story has come out showing that in case after case, FEMA has lessened the common good and made the common need greater. The USA is rich and its people are generous: if only FEMA and its mates had their acts together, poor countries like Afghanistan would not have had to send help. I will not even get *into* to horrific examples of callous political spin that have been floating round.
I have been watching this closely since before Katrina hit and I am *so* tired. I will stop blogging about it. There are a lot of people out there saying things that need to be read, though. Try http://sciencepolitics.blogspot.com/2005/09/best-katrina-blogging-so-far.html for starters.
And for the next person who tells me "The US is the world's wealthiest country. It is a superpower. Stop worrying." I would really like you to think for a moment that that real people have suffered and are suffering unduly through insufficient help and perhaps also to dwell on the thought that unless this crisis gets sorted quickly and effectively the powerhouse of the world economy will be in trouble. If the US sneezes we catch cold, remember, and this is rather more than a sneeze: it is poorer countries who will pay most if recovery drags. The faster the port of New Orleans is up and running the better for the rest of the world. The more slowly the emergency is handled, the more the virus of desperation is going to spread.