Katrina almost two years later

Could this be the new Grapes of Wrath?

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/in_depth/americas/2005/hurricane_katrina/default.stm

http://www.npr.org/news/specials/katrina/oneyearlater/

http://query.nytimes.com/search/query?query=katrina&srchst=nyt

            Katrina
hit one year ago, and how have we as a nation and a society progressed
since then? As the president remarked about the recent war in the
Middle East, sometimes a crisis provides a great opportunity for
positive change. What about here in these United States?

            After
the pledge drives, political speeches, 24/7 news coverage, and whatnot,
Katrina somewhat faded from the national consciousness for one obvious
reason: it was too painful, shameful, and unbelievable to think about.
It’s hard to argue with that. Instead, we focused our attention on
other things during the past year: Britney’s parenting, Nick and
Jessica, Bonds and Landis doping, illegal immigration, YouTube.com,
“Brokeback Mountain” jokes, terror plots thwarted, and two Hollywood
films about 9/11. During President Bush’s State of the Union Address in
January, can you guess how many times he uttered Katrina during his
50-minute speech? You can bet that it didn’t outnumber 9/11 references
(for all you keeping score at home, it was a big fat zero). It’s human
to want to forget what you’re not proud of, but if we do, we are adding
to the tragedy of the event. Sure we’ll have plenty of ceremonies and
introspectives this week, but what about the hard part: the honest
analysis, planning, and LEADERSHIP to assess what went wrong and how to
make it better from now on?

            Where
were our leaders on that fateful day a year ago? Mayor Nagin was
barricaded in the penthouse of a downtown New Orleans hotel, fearful of
potential angry mobs below (his constituents looking for food and
help). Governor Blanco was fighting with Washington for authority. One
of our most prominent black politicians who came from humble southern
roots, Condi Rice, was obliviously enjoying herself in Manhattan (she
is harshly criticized in Spike Lee’s new HBO documentary about Katrina
– please record it and let me borrow the tape if you are able). Brownie
was doing a heck of a job. It’s ironic that Bush chose to use “heck”
instead of “hell”, which is what millions of his fellow citizens were
going through while he praised his incompetent former FEMA director.
Homeland Security chief Chertoff was probably more concerned with shoe
bombers than storm response. And of course President Bush was
vacationing at his Crawford, Texas ranch. I don’t know where Cheney and
Rumsfeld were, but they were probably too preoccupied with Iraq to care
(another reconstruction effort that is dramatically falling behind
expectations).

            If
the Great Depression exposed massive problems in the American economy,
Katrina exposed fatal flaws (literally, with 1,700 dead) in American
civil governance. When a historic storm barrels through an area the
size of England, we can’t expect disaster recovery to proceed without a
hitch. Our government is not and should not be our collective nanny.
They are not responsible to “fix” Katrina with a magic wand. However,
why do we pay them our billions of tax dollars and entrust them with
huge political decisions if they can’t even facilitate a minimal
environment of public health and socioeconomic recovery on the Gulf
Coast? Am I being too harsh? In some storm areas there is still no
phone service or steady electricity. Why do we bother nation building
in foreign war zones when we can’t even rebuild our homeland?

Depending
on your perspective, a year can be an eternity or a blink of an eye.
Some might think that we’re doing well and we just need to give the
rebuilding more time. But are we really rebuilding with the sense of
urgency and expediency that we’ve seen in the past? In one year
(1943-1944), the Allies ramped up and expanded their war economies many
times over, reduced Nazi Germany to rubble, wiped out the Japanese
navy, and finished development of an atomic bomb. I know that was war,
and everything changes during wartime. But how many times have you
heard the Katrina Gulf Coast referred to as a “war zone”? Where there’s
a will, there’s a way. Where is our government’s and our society’s
willpower to rectify our past mistakes from Katrina? The government
response to Katrina (local, state, and federal) was a catastrophe worse
than the Category 4 storm itself. Very few people can effectively argue
the case that Katrina recovery is going well and we’re fully prepared
for the next big disaster. FDR mobilized a downtrodden and desperate
nation with the New Deal and other massive, daring programs. Where was
the Gulf Coast Renaissance that Bush and others envisioned or even
promised?

As
a telling anecdote from NPR, last year Bush posed hugging a New Orleans
resident, promising to rebuild her ruined home. I apologize for
forgetting her name (an older black woman I believe), but she was so
touched by the event that she became a Bush fan despite never voting
for him in the past. Yet her residence remains in shambles a year
later, and she’s never heard back from the man who promised her a new
home. I’m sure thousands of such tragic stories exist, but at least the
president didn’t have to add insult to injury and promise aid when he
really didn’t care to see it through.

Bolstered
by the economic surge during World War II, our federal government
enacted reforms to prevent a calamity like the Depression from
recurring. Americans witnessed a wide spectrum of behaviors, from
angelic charity to animalistic cruelty, as depicted in John Steinbeck’s
The Grapes of Wrath. America went through a humbling and
maturing period during the Depression, and we emerged a stronger,
better nation. But what about post-Katrina? The true heroes of Katrina
were the average citizens who sacrificed and helped each other in an
unreal ordeal. The true heroes were the ones who dug deep and found a
way to survive and persevere. They should be commended and commemorated
on Tuesday, though many of their stories will never be shared with the
general public (the networks prefer to give air time to grandstanding
politicians and ambitious anchormen/women instead).

Katrina
survival is a story of the enduring human spirit. No matter what the
tragedy, people will find courage and strength to be their best,
whether in South Asia, Darfur, Iraq, or the US of A. Of course
unfortunate exceptions exist, and we can’t fully escape the taint of
panic, corruption, and human evil. Looting and raping took place, storm
refugees were robbed instead of welcomed in their new communities,
opportunists took advantage of the situation to reap a profit, and the
government was negligent. But people with very little before Katrina
and even less afterwards found a way to carry on and still love their
country, which I find absolutely remarkable considering what they’ve
been through. We celebrated such courage and patriotism during 9/11.
Let us not forget to celebrate the triumph of the human will in
Katrina, unless we don’t accept poor, black people as national heroes.
Of course whites, Asians, and others suffered mightily during Katrina
as well, and I hope that their voices can resonate with the other
victims to gain enough critical mass to hold the guilty parties
accountable, compensate those who suffered, and provide the resources
they need to return to normal life.

            The
president and others might allude to such heroism and triumph in their
speeches tomorrow, as well they should. They may also acknowledge many
shortcomings in the recovery effort, which are obvious. Aid money was
abused or unallocated, insurance companies are trying to weasel their
way out of payments, oil companies reveled in the rising energy prices,
basic services have been slow to arrive, and the list of problems go on
and on. During and after Katrina, there was a total disconnect between
the aid responders, resource providers, and decision makers. This
vulnerability in our society is much scarier than all the potential
airline terror plots Al Qaeda, Hollywood, and the Pentagon can imagine.
The disaster probably emboldened the enemies of America far more than a
pullout from Iraq ever could. Katrina exposed weaknesses in America’s
moral and social fabric, and that threat can’t be underestimated. But
it’s not immutable. Katrina should be a wake-up call that dwarfs 9/11,
but it isn’t (so far at least).

            Americans
have to learn the hard way sometimes, but we usually learn eventually.
After taking casualties from Iraqi IEDs, the Pentagon finally outfitted
troops with body armor, reinforced Humvees, and better survival
tactics. Every time a new terror threat is uncovered, the TSA modifies
its screening procedures and regulations to minimize the danger.
Katrina exposed major socioeconomic, bureaucratic, leadership,
infrastructure, and racial problems in America. What are we doing to
address and counter those inadequacies? It’s true that President Bush
addressed the NAACP for the first time in his presidency in 2006, but
has the racial dialogue really improved in this country? Many emergency
responders and homeland security officials do not feel that we are
prepared for the next big one. Many impoverished Americans are still
ignored and isolated. It’s not like we don’t have the money to fix
things when we’re spending billions a week in Iraq. I do believe that
the Army Corps of Engineers will rebuild the levees to be safe, I do
believe that commerce will return and people will be prosperous again,
and I do believe that even the poorest parts of the South will have
access to aid during future hurricanes. But how long will it take, and
how much unnecessary suffering will occur because of our nation’s
apathy and inertia? 

            It
is a legitimate concern that the Gulf Coast is experiencing a “brain
drain” that impedes the recovery effort. We all act out of our own
self-interest. It’s hard for skilled professionals to keep their
families in the region and retain their former jobs, when much more
comfortable, stable, and lucrative opportunities exist elsewhere. In
some cases, people want to stay and do good, but their employers can’t
pay them and have no work for them (all the New Orleans public school
teachers were laid off post-Katrina for obvious reasons). Some people
have nothing to return to. I’m sure those of us far from the storm zone
would like to help too. We might know someone who was affected by the
hurricane, and that might augment our desire to be of service. But
there’s only so much we can do. We have our own self-interests, and we
can’t just pick up our lives and move to the South to help the recovery
or bolster the economy. Maybe we donate to charitable organizations.
Some of us have the chance to work hands-on. But many motivated
rescue/health workers flocked to the Gulf Coast to assist the storm
victims last September. Many sat idly or were sent home by the
government, frustrated and unable to help. We are not a nation of
Mother Teresas. We are generally good, generous people, but we need the
government to provide the opportunities and incentives to help. This is
not an unreasonable request. Uncle Sam needs a steady supply of
volunteer soldiers, so he offers to pay for college after you serve a
few years. The state of Arizona wants to increase voter turnout, so
they’re adding a lottery to the upcoming November election. People want
to do the right thing, but they’re more likely to do it with the proper
framework of incentives in place. That is precisely the government’s
role, but they’re noticeably remiss yet again. Education and awareness
are critical. Has this government honestly given the public much
information and incentive to assist in the Katrina recovery effort
(because obviously FEMA can’t do it all on their own)? Why do you think
that is? Why do you think President Bush has spoken more about
outlawing stem cell research and gay marriage than rebuilding the Gulf
Coast?

            In
conclusion, I leave you with a humble request. If you happen to listen
to our leaders’ speeches tomorrow, please reflect on what they say and
what they leave out. Please don’t let them revise history or spin their
way out of their responsibility and culpability. I know most of us
don’t have the time, skills, or resources to make a big difference on
the Gulf Coast. But from the comfort of your own home, you will do a
great service to the Katrina victims if you hold the guilty parties to
account (if only in your minds) and refuse to let them sweep the truth
under the rug or rewrite it altogether. Do not allow the anniversary of
Katrina to degenerate into a publicity stunt or media-political
opportunity as some people would like. Let it be the sobering reminder
and wake-up call that all of us in this great nation desperately need.