METAMORPHOSIS: Building the Dome of a Home

The incomprehensible
situation continues to
compound. From the lack of
food and water; levees
breaking; anarchy terrorizing
the victims even further;
deteriorating sanitation
conditions; putrid stagnating
water; deceased victims
absent of burials; to the slow
response time of federal aid,
the situation becomes ever
graver. Survivors of the
actual hurricane must now
survive the aftermath.
Medication is running out for
many of the refugees; there
are reports of people still
trapped in their attics; the
unbearable heat facilitating the potential for diseases and deteriorating health conditions; and the
heart-rending decisions to separate families to expedite evacuation.
The scenes are reminiscent of a disaster movie. It's likely if we saw all of this occurring in a
movie, we would say, "It was over the top, too much, it could never be that bad." And like the
survivors in the movies, small groups of people banded together to increase their odds for
survival in a world gone mad. Some groups decided to strike out on their own to see if they could
fare better being active instead of waiting on an organized effort by the government.
While the logistics of organizing a relief effort seem insurmountable, Hurricane Katrina was not a
surprise. The government knew a storm was heading to the Gulf coast. Not just any storm, but a
Category 5 monster bent on stalking its prey. True, no one knew exactly where she was going to
strike, but there was a general location identified by hurricane watches and warning. And it was
painfully obvious the communities affected would need help. And quickly.
Forces should have been mobilized and readied well before landfall. They could have been
organized to respond wherever they were needed immediately after the storm subsided. It is not
a surprise that water, food, emergency personnel, and military support were required after Katrina
ripped through the coast. If, by some miracle, the disaster wasn't as extensive as anticipated,
then gratefully, the readied troops could return to their previous duties. Obviously, people and
supplies should have been ready to move ASAP to the affected areas.
A prominent politician recently stated, ""If we can't respond faster than this to an event we saw
coming across the Gulf for days, then why do we think we're prepared to respond to a nuclear or
biological attack?"
I guess that is what frightens me most – that the American public has been lulled into trusting that
our government has its act together. A complacency exists because we assume that the
government is organized and has a plan for catastrophic events. When the directors of FEMA and
Homeland Security state they didn't foresee the problems and they were unaware of the situation
in New Orleans (although the news networks spoke of little else), we, as the American public,
should be concerned about their abilities to lead and protect us in a time of crisis. Thankfully,
many men and women are helping where they see a need, instead of waiting for orders that may
never come.
I salute the troops, emergency personnel, reporters, and volunteers who are, quite literally, in the
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