New Orleans

I can't even imagine what the poor people in New Orleans are going through right now. What would it be like to come home and find absolutely nothing left? What would it be like to be stuck in a sports arena with thousands of other people for days on end? What would it be like to swim through waters full of sewage, chemicals, and dangerous animals to find supplies to keep you and your family alive? What would it be like to be stuck in your attic, awaiting help that may never arrive?

Frankly, I'm appalled at the response from the federal government. I think that the media has done a wonderful job of showing the reality of the situation (aside from the very obvious racial slant, which is unacceptable), and I can't believe that it took president shrub actually going there to decide that the situation was dire. How dense is he?

Additionally, I find it quite interesting that this has happened in the wake of budget cuts to programs that could have helped avoid this situation altogether or at least lessened the blow. The bottom line is that we have infrastructure all over this country that is crumbling or would certainly crumble in a natural disaster such as this. I think about the Alaskan Way viaduct in Seattle and the downtown area, and wonder how that will hold up when the big earthquake hits. We could very well be in a similar situation if we don't do something about these areas in our country.

People used to pay taxes to fund the upkeep of these areas and to support a better existence for future generations. We've become so jaded about our quality of life, that we don't understand that tax cuts, such as those given by the shrub administration, actually HURT us in the long run. It's not like I enjoy paying taxes, but I do it and support it because it is important not only for my lifetime, but in the future. If there is one lesson to take away from this catastrophe, it should be that we need to take a good, hard look at our governmental policies and elected officials and determine if they are really doing what is right for us or if they're being led astray by hidden motives. What kind of a country are we going to have left if we continue down this path?

Finally, the fact that this has affected the poorer community in New Orleans is extremely sad. Here are people who had so little in the first place, and most of them were unable to evacuate because they simply didn't have enough money at the end of the month to get out. In this day an age, it is shameful that anyone would die or live in such a horrible situation because of lack of resources. The government should have recognized the gravity of the situation and got busses in there to take people out of the city to safe places.

I realize that the shrub administration, and FEMA now say that they couldn't have known how bad this would be, but I think that is a complete lie. There was plenty of warning that this could happen, but led by ideology rather than scientific research, our government chooses to ignore what the reduction of wetlands and other environmental problems cause in our country. I also think it's time to take a look at that and realize that government is not a place for religious ideology to rule.