I took somewhat of a personal interest in the two storms which ravaged the Gulf Coast this summer. Both of the hurricanes, especially Rita, came perilously close to my hometown and the majority of my family. I have always had a fascination with natural disasters for some reason (I'm sure I could pay someone to help me figure that one out sometime), but these storms brought it a little too close to home for me. Fortunately, the Houston-Galveston area was spared a direct hit, and my family is all safe if just a bit inconvenienced. I wish the same could be said for all the poor souls who have been displaced from their homes, lost their livelihoods and all they own, and been seperated from everyone they love and cherish. The images on television were heart-wrenching and anger-inducing, but of course that was the point...the media loves human misery, because it's a great story. Cynical? Maybe. True? Absolutely.
As predicted, the unorganized response by the governing bodies involved has caused much debate. People of both political persuasions used this tragedy to heap blame and shame upon their opposition, callously using the victims as unwitting pawns in the process. Ah, how far we humans have come. The fact is, there was plenty of blame to go around at the local, state and national levels of government. The REAL lesson here would be to never depend on government for anything you could reasonably take care of yourself. "But that's too simplistic, Key!", you say. "Some people have no choice but to depend on government." Hmm...I'm not so sure. But no matter how dark the day may seem, the individual always has some choice, and the individuals working outside of the bloated government animal can make the greatest difference in healing the suffering of their fellow man...that is, if the government will let them.
God bless the victims of this cataclysm, and shame to those who would exploit it for their own gain.