The Gulf and an American Wake Up Call

What have we become? Will we ever learn? I am not sure these questions can ever be answered with words but rather with the inaction our government shows to those most in need in our nation. To explain myself I will point out one dark scar on the face of America. The Katrina, Rita, Gustav, and Ike debacle and the lack of concern beyond the interest in the ratings that human tragedy gives both television and sick politicians who want nothing more than a chance for us to think they care; when we all know they do not. Do not tell me this is not true or you too are sick. We do not need to give hand outs but we do need to take action to protect people in the future. This can be done in many ways but tonight I am proposing five.

First off I would take a book from the Dutch and invest in some form of sea protection. This might include a type of sea wall (that may be retractable in some points to make trade easy), river entry walls (retractable and only used in emergency situations), and early warnings placed in the gulf to better warn of waves and possible tidal surges. Second there could be a volunteer network set up that would be used in the case of any national tragedy. This could be used much like the National Guard and employers would be required to allow their employees to leave for the time they are allotted to serve. This would be a group of well trained specialists in certain fields and would be voluntary but paid for time on the field and in training. Fields of need would be health, construction, counseling, electricians, and other fields as needed. Third I would propose a freeze on all mortgage payments and a possible time of interest being lifted for both personal loans and credit cards for those directly affected by the disaster. This would obviously be a short term assistance and would help people as they are in the phase of evacuation, return, or recovery. Lastly I would propose a freeze on world aide and redirect it to disaster recovery for as long as needed. This is nationalistic and self-centered, you might say, but I am a firm believer in helping your own people first. That brings me to the fifth fix; repair or replace our government.