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This is response to a couple of letters in the same paper, but I think you get the idea w/o me printing the original letters (at least, I HOPE you do!)...
It has been suggested by some people that the victims of hurricane Katrina are themselves at fault, either because they "chose" not to leave or because they "chose" to live in a dangerous area.
Did these people also "choose" to be poor, so that they were unable to leave the city - either during the evacuation, or at any time in their lives to move to a "safer" area?
To anyone in Cheatham County who would say that the Katrina victims should have moved to a "safer" area and we should have no sympathy for them and not rebuild New Orleans because of the risk of Natural Disaster, I would like to know if you realize that Cheatham County is part of Tornado Alley? Why would you want to live in a section of the country that is so prone to Tornado damage? If
your home is destroyed and your life devastated by a tornado, should the rest of us just ignore you and refuse to help you rebuild because you chose to live in Tornado Alley, and it's your fault because you chose to live here?
As far as the New Orleans area is concerned: yes, much of it is below sea level and has unique obstacles to overcome. However, it is also because of it's unique geography that has made it the busiest and most important port in the US. We have known for decades that the levees could be breeched, and we actually allocated funds
to fortify the levees. Those funds were "redistributed" by the current administration, even though the Army Corp of Engineers warned them that the job could not be accomplished with the lessened funds. We also knew that the coastal erosion would lessen the natural protection of the area and increase the likelihood
of the levees being breeched - but Congress voted down measures meant to restore Natural protections. Scientists have warned for years that Global Warming could create severe storms and the previous administration worked hard to help build the
Kyoto Accord based on Real Science - which this administration rejected.
But, all of that is in the past. Perhaps all of it could have been avoided.
Perhaps New Orleans could have been evacuated 100%. Actually, New Orleans was 80% evacuated, even though most pre-Katrina estimates forecasted the evacuation level at 60% at best. So, the local officials actually performed better than expected. However, we as Americans deserve to know why so many of our fellow Americans were
allowed to die, whether because of poor planning or because of poor response. And I'll be honest, personally, I can be more forgiving of poor planning than poor response.
The response, or rather lack of response, to Katrina was simply unforgivable. When you have a major relief ship like the USS Bataan sitting in the Gulf simply waiting for orders from the Commander in Chief and those orders don't come for four days - there is NO ONE you can blame except the Commander in Chief.
Should we rebuild New Orleans? Yes, absolutely. New Orleans is more than just a place on the map. It is part of our culture, part of what makes America, America.
How many restaurants can you find who don't serve at least one Cajun dish? Who doesn't have at least one set of Mardi Gras beads? New Orleans is as American as mom, apple pie, and gumbo.
Can New Orleans be safe? Well, if we actually listen to our scientists and engineers for a change, we can restore the natural marshland barriers and reinforce the levees so that it's safer to live there than here in Tornado Alley.
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