Today marks the anniversary of Hurricane Katrina and the flooding that caused hundreds of thousands of Americans to lose their homes and leave the Gulf Coast.
The tragic event awakened a sleeping giant - the media - and their outrage allowed us to watch in horror as the events unfolded. Many stared in disbelief at the extreme poverty so many Americans live in. The veil of silence on this important issue had been lifted, if only for a moment. We watched, aghast, as reporters on the ground seemed to have a better grasp at what was going on than our own government. We found it hard to believe that our response would be slower for our own than it was for Tsunami victims.
The projection of competence and readiness on the part of our government was forever shattered, even to the true believers. Questions were asked about our readiness for a terror attack, questions that still have yet to be answered. More surprising is that we still are not ready for another Katrina. Forget about adapting to new threats or stronger hurricanes - remember Katrina was not as bad as it could get. Scary but true: We can't even learn the hard lesson of the past.
The head of the Army Corps of Engineers conceded on Saturday that "it isn't clear yet whether (the levees could) withstand a hurricane with heavy storm surge this year."
There does not seem to be any coherent plan to rebuild the city; a majority of Americans believe that most of the almost 44 billion dollars spent on hurricane recovery has been wasted. And there is mounting evidence that Americans have good reason to think so.
I woke up this morning like any other morning, turning off the alarm, clicking on the lamp, and turning on some music. As I regained consciousness to Diana Krall and her sultry New Orleans sound, I felt a tear form, for I remembered what day it was and how much had changed here in my town in this past year.
Katrina, you washed some things away, exposed our weaknesses, and gave us a chance to start new again. You brought us closer to some, separated us from others, and made most of us deeply appreciate the bonds of community that refused to drown in the incompetence and unfocused eyes of our leaders. And that's okay.
So as the sun sets on the old streets of our old city, the last speeches over, and the motorcades long gone, the memories of this day a year ago and the days that followed will always remain.
Some will choose to live in the past, forever mourning the losses of a life before Katrina, but I think many will choose to awaken, shed one tear in memoriam, and move forward to face the new day we have been graciously given.
Posted by: Joe at August 29, 2006 05:18 PMNicely said Joe.
I watched the spike lee doc. last night again. How can anyone watch that and think our gov't cares about its people. Or at least the current regime in charge. My favorite part was actually seeing how the BBC reporters told their viewers exactly what was going on. No hold holding back for political correctness. They reported what they saw. And they reported that our poor black communities were being stranded by the federal gov't weak responce. And they say leaving Iraq will make us look weak, how weak does our emergency responce look?
It was also interesting to see the history of floods in the 9th ward and how they intentionally flooded it in the early 20th century. There are alot of pissed of people in NO's that are not as thankful as Joe above and have alot of hate with this federal gov't. they blame them for actually blowing the levees and want a investigation. But none will ever be given.
Elaine from signfeld has nothing on!
Posted by: just visiting at August 30, 2006 08:18 AMHi Just a note to let you know we are hurting here also, After one year the Fema trailer is still not here , we were told for the second time this year it was ready but it was in another county and then no it was not ours...the Grants are in to there fourth month and I am told another 3-4 weeks away..yes right they might show up with the trailer Ha ha pityful and painful we watched on TV last night as our towns reunite to heal we wish we could have been there
Linda,
tropicalbutter@comcast.net
PS I contacted the sun herald today in Biloxi about running a Large Block ad to fema showing one photo of our slab and our address that has never changed so they can find us.. chins up right ??? I am so sick of making Lemmonade Thanks a bunch hone.
Posted by: Linda in the Pass Christian Ms at August 30, 2006 01:52 PMI cannot tell you how devastated that area of Mississippi and SW Alabama was. I drove through the night to get to Grand Bay, AL a small town outside of Pascagoula, MS and passed through Bayou LaBatre, Gautier and the other small towns along hwy 90 - utter devastation. In Bayou LeBatre there were literally boats in the trees. People's lives, their homes, shrimpboats, just moved from one side of the street to the other. It was unreal. It still is. How has Haley Barbour handled the aid?
Posted by: Joe at August 30, 2006 03:25 PMI believe that Hurricane Katrina will go down in history as the beginning of the end for the Bush administration. All of the persuadable Americans realized the emperor was wearing no clothes when Katrina hit. Up until that point, they were willing to give Bush a pass. Katrina revealed that this administration is just blatantly incompetent.
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