Last night I was awakened from a deep sleep by the sound of the wind outside. I did not think much of it and returned to whence I came. I awoke this morning to learn a tornado had mangled buildings and lives only a mile or two away. I suppose all those who have, since August 29, 2005, made a statement similar to, "We should not be wasting our money and effort re-building a city located in such a precarious location. A city should never have been built there in the first place,"will somehow point to this tragedy and say something along the lines of,"See, they should not have been living a tornado's path." This latter declaration would make about as much sense as the former. Jt consoles me that those who expressed have such sentiments following Hurricane Katrina are your neighbors and not mine.
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Comments: 13
Never ending battle, that.
You touch on my very sentiments. At one point, I wrote, but never published a satirical article in which I agreed that no Federal money should be spent on the rebuilding of New Orleans. I then proceeded to list why all Federal assistance, as in New Orleans, should be stopped in places and gave reasons using the same faulty reasoning:
Cal..........everyone knows its earthquake central and is going to fall into the sea one day.........and houses continue to be rebuilt in areas prone to wildfires.
Hawaii & Wash...........where they gonna go when the volcanoes blow?
Several States..........how much money was recentl spent digging out from under tons of snow.
The states of Tornado Alley.........for obvious reasons.
The floods of the mid-western states
Florida has a bullseye on it for hurricanes
You get my drift. Again, it was all satirical to illustrate that totally off-the-wall kind of thinking. Someone's home is there home.........even if the choose, for reasons I cannot comprehend, to live at the top of some skyscraper in the midst of the urban masses.
Pamela my wife and I can only sympathise with you and yours, we are secure, safe, sound, and far from the cries of anquish such as yours.
We did see it on the Television, why a World Wide Appeal was never made by your Government, I'll never know.
If not for humanitarian purposes alone, New Orleans must surely be the Capitol of Music. Gladly, you cant kill a nation, or its people whatever culture they come from. The human spirit is stronger than any Govermment.
Good luck and sleep warm.
Clive.
It is ironic that people travel from all parts of the world to visit this city and yet, as my article was aimed, there are many individuals who believe their way is best, no matter how idiotic. They say, "Do not finance rebuilding there, because a city should have not been built there in the first place." The point I attempted to make in my reply to Mariana, these same people would be singing a different tune if it were their home.
I certainly understand that everyone cannot extend themselves like your hubby and mother (Thank them both for me!) , yet there are so many things that need to be done in such a situation. For example, without realizing it, the day after the hurricane I found myself providing information to a few of the thousands who were already seeking information regarding how and where to volunteer or seeking a reputable organization to send goods or a monetary donation.
I have never been put off by those simply "do not care" what has happened or understand that a ripple effect continues to occur. However, I was especially pained and saddened by those who were arguing the political and fiscal viability of funding/rebuilding New Orleans, while the water was still rising and people were dying. They were simply debating and nothing else. They were not "movers and shakers" that could significantly sway anyone's opinion on the issues.
The second type are those who advocated and continue to advocate the withdrawal of federal support because we are a "lost cause." To them my reply is the one I explained in my comment to Marianna above.
Thanks again!