I am sick and tired of the fingerpointing following Hurricane Katrina. So allow me this brief moment to point out with my own ten hypocritical fingers some truths:
You can't have it both ways. You can't have a democratic nation but expect the government to dole out Band-Aids in the form of money and supplies. Refresher course: We the people make up cities that make up counties that make up states that make up the government. Each of those levels has its own accountability, so for you bandwagon liberals to blame the federal goverment is ridiculous, and for you bandwagon conservatives to blame the local mayor or governor is to turn a blind eye to everyone else.
What's more is that we seem to be so unbelievably unable to acknowledge two very known truths: That we as humans are fallible (at all levels), and that we as humans are responsible for ourselves. If every tier above you fails, you have to be able to count on your own resources and your own knowledge. If you know you live in a city 20 feet below sea level with levees that will only withstand a level three hurricane, then you're taking that risk by living there.
If you are a city mayor or a county commissioner and the government takes away your funding for levees, then it is your responsibility to find the money otherwise. If you are the governor and you know a category 4 or 5 storm is going to hit an area that is only prepared for a category 3 storm, then you need to ask for a mandatory evacuation. Afterward you need to request all the help you can lay your hands on, press conferences and showers be damned. If you are the president and you're on vacation, you need to turn your attention to more pressing matters. (Though I'm not sure Bush was on vacation—I thought he was visiting an Air Force base...hmm, must do more research....)
If you are human and you don't have the gift of foreknowledge, you need to do your best, and you need to realize that sometimes the perfect storm is beyond all planning and all imagination. Its aftermath is a time to help each other out, to make the world a little bit less horrible and a little bit more liveable. And you don't do that by sitting in your armchair and pointing fingers.
If you are an American citizen, you don't want Big Brother watching you to see when you need a Band-Aid and deciding when you get it, where to put it, and when to rip it off. You want to go down to your own corner store and get your own kind—maybe the kind that glow in the dark or that have cartoon figures on it. It's the power of choice and it's the American dream.