“…government of the people, by the people, for the people” is a famous part of his Gettysburg address, a location that I have the privilege to live next to. Lately it seems that the only part of that desired governing ideal he described that we remember is the “for the people” part. Apparently Katrina “victims” have decided to sue the government for $3 quadrillion dollars. This ridiculous amount is called a negotiation tactic.
So here is my question. Let’s suppose a meteor came out of the sky and landed square on your roof. Your house is now destroyed (you and your family were at work and school during this time, so you survived). You have no where to live, and your homeowners insurance has declared a moratorium against God, so His acts are not covered. You are sunk. No home, a mortgage for a hole in the ground. Your neighbor comes to you and says, “Hey, I am so sorry for what happened. Do you want to stay with us for a few days, until you can get things together and get some directions?” Grudgingly, because you really want to sleep in your own bed, you thank him, and you and your family stay in his house, eat his food, watch his cable television. Time passes. You end up renting an apartment, because you can’t afford to buy another house, and you are struggling to survive. Your frustration and bitterness build. So one day you go to your neighbor, the same neighbor who took you in, fed you, clothed you, and let you live off of his generosity, and you demand recompense: He needs to buy you a new house, because this whole situation wasn’t fair, and he didn’t lose his house, and so he needs to belly up to the table.
Does this even make sense? The “victims” of Katrina - we act as though Katrina is a person and purposely attacked them - are suing our government. Hmm, now let me see. Who is that government? Oh yeah, that’s us. The people. These victims are suing us, because life isn’t fair, and the rest of us, who weren’t attacked by Katrina, should have to pay for it. That’s logical, right?
We have gotten so far away from what this government was intended to be, it is sickening. Life isn’t fair, and I am very empathetic to those who lost their homes in the storm that was Katrina. But they need to make sure their local government is better prepared for the future, and accept that it is a chance you take, simply breathing every day, that trauma can hit. Learn from it, grow, help each other out of the holes of life, but for goodness sake, take responsibility for your own survival. We as a government have offered our tax dollars for their relief, done the best we could for a situation no one could truly be completely prepared for, and let their local government off the hook for not reinforcing their dams. We did not intend out assistance to return their life to its apparently lustrous state prior to Katrina. It was simply to get them through until they could get back on their feet.
I’ll tell you what: the next time life throws me a curve ball, I’m heading down to Louisiana and demanding they cough up the dough for my problems. I wonder how that would go over?