I don't really have much to say about the anniversary of Katrina that Jason hasn't already said. It is clear at this point that our government does not function. When it ceased to function and what caused this is anyone's guess. I would say it was irrelevant save for that if we ever do manage to establish a government truly worthy to govern it would be of use to know how it happened so as to avoid it. But apparently that's a lot more pattern recognition than is prevalent among the masses. The same brand of lies that were used to explain Iraq away were used to pass the buck here. And I draw a direct link between Bush landing on the aircraft carrier saying Mission Accomplished while troops were still in harm's way and his visit to the Gulf (against the wishes of the local government), during which rescue helicopters were ordered for security reasons to stand down instead of, you know, rescue people. But one man cannot alone shoulder the blame. And as members of a democracy we all hold a share of it, however small. If this is truly a government by the people, for the people, and of the people, then what does this say of us? Either that we are as thoughtless and crooked as our government or that we are so ignorant and spineless as to let it become such. Harsh indictments, both. And I fear that even the best possible outcomes in 06 and 08 will not serve to repair.
If there was a big red button that said RESET on it, and it didn't specify exactly what it did and it looked credible I would get a great temptation to press it.
Correction - It's not our government that does not function. It's this administration. I lived through Andrew in the early 90s and it worked then. Our processes seem archaic compared to what could be accomplished now, not to mention the budget allocated towards emergency services at that time which were less than what is available through FEMA.
ReplyDeleteSpared: You have a point, but I considered this beforehand. The three branches of government were designed to balance each other out. If one manages to fuck up so thoroughly on its own, the others are either complicit or have been rendered impotent. Seems to me that had anyone cared to look into it at the time they could have realized that Brown wasn't qualified to head FEMA. It should have been apparent to everyone at that point that fuck-ups of the highest order could be made with every decision that Bush made.
ReplyDeleteBut I'm not even just talking about Katrina. Our political system has proven itself incapable of producing worthy candidates.
Point taken though. The administration is the main problem.
You were right. It's not just the admin. Yes they fucked up and continue to everytime they can
ReplyDeleteBut it's us too. Not you--you were too young to take a stand when Newt swept the house or during the Impeachment
All the political blogs that cast blame so readily? What were they doing during those times?
I actively worked against Newt, worked against the Impeachment, and am getting sick of people who cast blame without having taken responsiblity prior to Iraq
We have to begin looking outside politics for candidates worthy of our country. People with real ideas and ideals
Wonderful post Wombat--and my word verifcation spells gov
Of course this gov is totally at fault--and they have been packing the Supreme Court---both houses--well maybe in Novemeber there might be a chance
ReplyDeletebut there are root problems that go so much deeper
And everybody thinks "get the Dems in" problem solved, and this is a crisis that we need solved, but we need to look at entrenchened systems
i keep pressing that reset button and all that happens is my wrist gets tired.
ReplyDeletemy brother mentioned a town that depressed him to drive through today because those people seem forgotten....ah...tha answers aren't easy...on an individual basis, i've run into people who you couldn't pry their minds open with a crowbar...i'm babbling.. time to go to bed.
In total agreement, dude.
ReplyDeleteMeant to comment on this earlier, but blogger was being a bitch and a half...