http://yankeehotel.blogspot.com/By: Lisa Hickson
It isn't too often that I feel inclined to comment on things of a political or social nature, the way so many others feel at ease to. There are those pieces I write which are heavily flavored in sarcasm and good natured ribbing, yet in my own eyes, they seem to be a way for me to remain aloof and unattached to this reality. Over the years I have grown accustomed to obscuring those things I believe most deeply in, while others freely dispense their ideas and displeasures of the world around them. I sit and observe and allow others to act in front of me, slightly for my own amusement, yet also to absorb and learn just a little more as I watch from my perch. There is also the anxiety attached to unleashing a view point to a room that may be quick to discount and discredit my words. So I keep them within me, still spinning and evolving, not ready to be born.
Each thought I have could easily be expanded into its own detailed piece, but I will forgo this task and keep it brief.
I have never liked, nor wanted this current Presidential administration. Hate is a venomous word that I avoid using with any meaning, so I would never have said "hate" prior to this past week when speaking against the Bush administration. I voted against this President twice. I would cringe when hearing this man try to speak, and balk at those who continue to swear he can do no wrong. While many wail against our President as if he were the anti-Christ, I might only express a general disappointment without elaborating. The loud-mouths usually would do the elaborating for me, so there was no need to waste by breath.
This administration and this Government have failed our nation on all counts. This administration has crippled our standing in the international community to the point where it may take generations to rebuild. This administration plunged us into a pointless war, and cornered us into a commitment with Iraq that may never be fulfilled. This administration has done its best to preserve the cash reserves of our most wealthy citizens while denying the rest of the nation some of its most vital funding to keep fueling a lost cause in the Middle East. This administration has done nothing to bridge the ever widening gap between the "blues" and the "reds" as its policies have grown increasingly right-winged and theocratic. This administration has never been representative of the true Republican ideology that the party was meant to stand for, such as keeping the government out of the private lives of people, or even being fiscally restrained by not spending beyond our means. This administration bears the moniker of Republican to mask itself, and its warped direction.
While I can respect a person who respectfully disagrees with my opinion, there cannot be any disagreement over how this administration, under Bush has let down this country in the worst possible way. The preservation of our own people, on our own land, in the face of man-made or natural disaster is the sole purpose of any government. The preservation of all our citizens should be the top most priority for any leader. There was no way to prevent Katrina from forming off the coast of Africa or stopping it along its path to the Gulf. There was no way to deflect Katrina away from a heavily populated area, such as New Orleans. There was every way this government should have responded immediately afterwards, and simply did not.
The faces of those trapped in the Super Dome were almost entirely black and poor. The issue of race has been dragged up in front of our eyes, and rightly so, for now we have witnessed perhaps the worst example of ourselves failing to help our own. Not one of those humans, who were unable to escape the city by their own means, who were forced to seek shelter among the masses in the most deplorable situation, not one of them is not a full blooded American. The old adage of "if they had been white, it would have been different" has been played again and again. At the heart of it all, when reflecting on our history and our own personal prejudices, we know this is completely true. There is not one of us who should not be outraged at our government's sluggish response at not merely saving these people, but also for denying them dignity and compassion in the face of this disaster.
Time and time again we have demonstrated the ability to provide relief to those suffering in the most far flung reaches of the planet, yet here at home, we failed to do the same for those at our very front door. Our tax dollars, paying for our troops in Iraq should instead be paying for our troops to secure and protect those of us at home. Our dollars should have been paying for helicopters and planes to drop basic human necessities to our own refugees. Our dollars should have been paying for the prevention of such a massive disaster, when it has been known for so long that this was not a matter of if, but a matter of when. We, as a nation of people, would seem to think that what has just happened could never happen anywhere where our flag flew, and yet it has. There is a relief in knowing that assistance is now reaching these people at last, but better late than never is never acceptable when people are dying.
I don't write this to proclaim that all of our woes are the direct result of George W. Bush, or Cheney or Rumsfeld, or anyone else currently in power. I'm not so deluded as to believe that a single mistake was never made by past administrations, both Democrat and Republican. I understand clearly that every action is merely a link in a chain going back throughout history. What I see now, with my own eyes, is the height of incompetence at the highest level. It is not enough to call this a disgrace or an embarrassment; this is simply unacceptable. This nation requires better judgment from better leadership. A consciousness must be risen in this nation from the very ground up. Only then will our government be a true reflection of ourselves and the ideals we have to live up to. Our neighbor in turmoil may one day be ourselves, which is why it is so vital that we come to the realization that we are all we have. Wouldn't so many of our own choices be different if we only kept this one reality in mind?
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