September 4, 2005

Katrina and self reliance

By James Lewis
The only upside to a catastrophe like Katrina is what it can teach us. To me, living in an earthquake zone with an inevitable Big One coming in five or fifteen years, the lesson is self reliance. The most pathetic sight in the last week was the hordes of helpless people in New Orleans, suddenly deprived of their caregivers — government, utilities, transportation, medical care, police protection, even the supermarket down the block. When all that broke down under an overwhelming blow of nature, too many people had nothing to fall back on. Not even themselves, their families, friends, neighbors. Yes, we can blame the city of New Orleans for not investing in stronger levees for a Level Five Hurricane that was sure to come. But then we must also blame California for not preparing enough for the big earthquake that is equally sure.  All the houses in flood plains are built, ultimately, on hope and denial. New York City was not prepared for 9/11, even though the same gang of...(Read Full Article)