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New Orleans and the breakdown of public morality
By Margaret E. Loebe '06
STAFF WRITER

The public's reaction to Hurricane Katrina has been compared to that of the country after September 11, 2001. Horrified by the sheer havoc that the hurricane wreaked on the delta, Americans have opened their homes to refugees. Sweet Briar is graciously offering college students whose institutions have been affected by the hurricane the ability to matriculate here, and SBC students have generously sent contributions to various parts of the relief effort. As a citizen of this country and a student at this school, I am proud of these reactions.

Seeing as I have in these unfortunate times the charity and the goodwill displayed by Americans, rich and poor, Democrat and Republican, Southerner and Yankee, I look to my government, hoping that the essence of these values will be shown in that venerable institution. Indeed, we saw FEMA's lumbering scramble to New Orleans after the hurricane.

It took three days before evacuees stranded in the Superdome began to be bussed out, and it was a week beyond that before they were all placed in shelters in other cities. In the meantime, people in their fear turned to violence, which merely served to exacerbate the chaotic atmosphere. FEMA's efforts weren't really enough, and there were not enough members of the New Orleans police force to contain its scared and displaced citizens. The events in New Orleans reveal a complete breakdown of social order.

The governmental mechanisms established to take charge in an emergency were unable to fulfill their missions. The Louisiana National Guard wasn't called in to protect the citizens; FEMA was ill-prepared to handle an emergency; the Army Corps of Engineers had not secured the levees; the mayor of New Orleans and the governor of Louisiana did not take pre-emptory steps to remove evacuees from the city that they knew would be flooded.

Because Mississippi and Alabama were affected as well, the hurricane’s aftermath was rightfully a problem for the federal government. Not only was the head (now the former head) of FEMA, Michael Brown, unqualified for the position with which he had been trusted, but devastatingly, none of these groups had the resources they needed to properly address the situation: FEMA has been woefully neglected and even rendered powerless under the Bush administration; due to a lack of clear procedure, the National Guard was not called in until it was too late for many; the Army Corps of Engineers was not allocated the funds to secure the levies.

We have elected officials with whom we have charged the responsibility of keeping us safe and preparing for the proverbial rainy day. Considering their ardent response, it is clear that citizens from all over the country considered the hurricane and its aftermath a national tragedy. The fact that the government has emergency institutions in place is a clear indicator that emergency relief has been thought of as a governmental responsibility. In the aftermath, we as citizens have reacted with sympathy and ready assistance, while beforehand, the government ignored its responsibility to us, the citizens. Because prioritizing is evaluating and acting in order of importance, it would thus seem that the values of the government do not line up with the values of its citizens.

Politicians love to stress their commitment to morality and family values. However when it comes to the more unglamerous necessities of upholding moral standards, such as protecting our vulnerable and marginalized citizens, they did not appropriately respond to the duty to which we have trusted them.