Heath's Random Thoughts

What is Going On?

I am sitting here watching the evening news and the carnage that is going on down south and I find myself asking what is going on? For the last 2 days I have watched clip after clip of people trapped in the city of the most developed nation in the world starve and resort to desparate measures to find food or water or just get out of the soup bowl that is now New Orleans. People are litterally dying where they sit waiting for help to come to them like they have been promised. The same help our government has promised is coming and still only trickling in or is too afraid to go in because looters are taking pot shots at the helicopters trying to help people. Its total chaos.

Still I wonder why its taking so long to get help there? Is it because we were this unprepared? Is it because we don't have the resources? Is it the fault of the people who decide not to evacuate when told to? Or are we so spread thin across the globe that we don't have the Guardsman available to help with this disaster? Lets face it the people who stayed behind are probably dirt poor and had no way of leaving the city. I mean for God's sakes we are supposed to be the most powerful and resourceful nation in the world yet we can't get people into a major metro area to help. There appears to be no command and control on the ground in NO and no one knows where to go to get help. There is help but it doesn't seem to be coordinated or directed in anyway! Its frustrating to watch and its got to the point where the media is spending just as much time saving people as they are reporting what is going on.

Let's face it we were totally unprepared for this disaster and were caught with our pants down on this one and its an embarrassment. People have known for decades that this could likely happen and that NO was a giant bowl just waiting to flood, yet no planning seemed to be put in place in the event the levees broke. All we keep hearing is that they did not think the levees would break. Well, news flash they were only built to survive Level 3 hurricanes to save money yet Katrine was a level 5! Let's get some transport trucks in there with the military and get these people out. If we can get troops on the ground so quickly half way around the world yet its taking days just to get troops to another freaking state. Are we that cocky as a country to think we could be prepared enough for something like this? Or is it an economic problem? No one seems to have answers. Just a lot of bewildered looks from our leaders and haphazard action.

I am donating money to the Red Cross for this and I encourage you too. Its just incredibly frustrating to watch this without being able to help. If you want to donate money go to this website http://www.redcross.org/

posted by Heath @ 10:44 PM