Coping and reacting
It has been a year since Hurricane Katrina. One would have to be in another solar system not to know this. Television has aired numerous Katrina anniversary programs.
This event has dominated my life and the lives of so many. It has never been out of the news here, so the anniversary shows just seemed like more of the same coverage.
I am always interested in how people respond to things. Our values and philosophy of life drive our reactions and responses. I think most of the fighting and blaming is really a clash of these values.
People believe different things about what should be done about what Katrina broke. Much of the debate and anger centers around the role of government. Local, state, and federal government all have roles.
Some people are still waiting for government to help, while others have moved on. Some folks had the means to rebuild on their own, some - like my neighbor - cashed in his 401K to move on.
Houston, TX extended their hand to help our region and they are sorry for it now. Many who went there believe they hit the Katrina lottery. They have sat for a year with free rent. It appears they will do nothing until someone from FEMA takes them to the next free thing. The murder rate has gone up in Houston 20% and they can attribute it to Hurricane Katrina evacuees.
Now everyone who went to Houston is not a lazy murdering free loader, but many are.
I saw a report about St. Bernard Parish. This area was as devastated as the highly publicized 9th Ward. The rebuilding effort seems to be going much better in St. Bernard. The people want to be there and they are not waiting on the government. One man said that hope is as cheap as despair.
The problems and solutions around rebuilding after Katrina have been touted as racial. However, I have seen and read about people from both races on both sides of the fence. Katrina was an equal opportunity hurricane. She wiped out everybody equally.
Whatever resources you had before the hurricane are what you had after the hurricane. Money in the bank, education, insurance, and family and friends are what folks have to rebuild. The color of your skin has nothing to do with it.
If you are waiting on the government and help isn't coming, then you get angry. You may even begin to believe you are not getting help because of the color of your skin, but that does not make it true.
Individuals will have to rebuild their own lives or not. Government will throw a bone every now and then, but they will not provide a comprehensive answer for each individual.
When I see helpless dependent people whining or venting anger on the news, I realize they did not get that way over night. Much like a spoiled child, they learned how to be dependent.
Government has tried to raise a couple of generations with welfare and it does not work. The old saying, "Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day; teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime," applies here.
We in these modern times think we have accomplished something because we did without electricity, cable TV, and running water for a few weeks. I wonder what the conditions were like settling this country and moving west.
The pioneers somehow made it and eventually thrived. Where is that spirit and innovation now? I believe it was slowly washed away by government handouts. People got used to the monthly check. They didn’t have to dig for water or hunt rabbits, they just had to walk to the mailbox.
Now we have a large segment of society that is uneducated, doesn't work, and continues to produce children even though they have no way of providing for them. These kids are raised in inadequate environments. They often lack a two-parent home and are not taught to value education. The kids are largely ungoverned and eventually wind up dead or in jail.
Katrina really exposed what this means when basic services are interrupted. This group of people lacks the resources to help themselves. They blame and criticize the government like a spoiled child would their own parents if their car runs out of gas.
The folks who make it are born into homes where they are taught to believe in themselves and not the government. They are taught they can do anything they want to if they work for it. They are taught to value education. They are taught to respect others, themselves, and their community.
If they are taught these things, it does not matter how much money they have. Dignity is not purchased; it comes from an attitude and a way of behaving.
I don't care what color you are. It matters not what your religion is or your sexual orientation. What is important is how you behave and what you do. If you take care of yourself and have enough left over to give to others and to your community; then you are a responsible adult in my book.
Hurricane Katrina came along and exposed what people think of themselves. She was a test that no one could cheat on. Some passed with flying colors, but others failed miserably.
Until the next time
John Strain
Sunday, September 3, 2006 at 10:25AM 
