God Rest Ye, Merry Gentlemen - Jars of Clay - listen now

Friday, September 2, 2005

New Orleans: The Nanny State's Bitter Fruit

Excellent essay by Justin Darr, and right on target too. America needs to change the way it thinks about government. New Orleans is a prime example of what happens when an entire class of people become dependent on government for everything - even making life or death decisions. The more 'entitlements' people are given the more they want. The more people don't have to provide for themselves, the less capable they become of doing so.

Excerpts:

Two days. 48 hours. 2,880 minutes. This was all the time it took for the fabric of 6000 years of civilization to unravel in New Orleans. Streets which just last week were lined with the fans of Blues clubs and theaters are now patrolled by gangs of what in any other country would be called terrorists looking for their next innocent victim or store front to pillage. Rapes and gang wars in the Superdome, gun fire at rescue helicopters, and the efforts to search and rescue trapped survivors of hurricane Katrina have been abandoned in a near hopeless effort to restore some semblance of public order. Think of it. In just two days time, authorities have been forced to desert innocent people to almost certain death because New Orleans has become unsafe for rescue operations. Two days.

[...]

The reality is that the poor residents of the New Orleans could have evacuated the flood zone on a public bus before the hurricane for about the cost of a bottle of water. The total disabled population of New Orleans who might not have been able to evacuate is estimated at around 55,000 residents. So, the question must be asked why up to half a million people did not evacuate the city. The sad answer is that many of these residents remained because they where waiting for the government to aid them.

Many trapped in New Orleans right now are in a state of shock. They expected the nanny state which provides them with housing, medical care, food, and education to also come forward and provide them with the means of escaping a natural disaster. When a state of emergency was declared in August 26th , they waited. When the inbound lanes of the highways around New Orleans where rerouted outbound to allow for faster evacuation by road, they waited. If things where really that bad, the government would come through for them and tell them where to go, what to do, and provide the means to make it happen. Many residents in New Orleans remained because they have been so indoctrinated into the idea that they will be taken care of by the government that they are incapable to looking out for themselves.

4 comments:

Anonymous 9/03/2005 12:58:00 AM  

Try fallacyfiles.org or maybe even try going to college. This post doesn't contain enough well constructed arguments to feed a starving mouse.

Anonymous 9/03/2005 01:01:00 AM  

p.s. Mr. Darr should try citing his sources. Otherwise, intelligent people have a tendency to think he's just making stuff up.

Kevin 9/03/2005 11:30:00 AM  

Mr. Anonymous, your so mean. You've cut me to the bone with your scathing critique. Boo hoo.

As for sources...have you seen the fucking news lately? Every damn article is a source and a proof for what Mr. Darr said. Some just choose not to see it.

Zendo Deb 9/03/2005 02:58:00 PM  

When you ignore a category 5 hurricane coming straight at you, when you ignore a mandatory evacuation order, what can you expect the government to do?

I have ignored evacuation orders, but when I did, I figured if I got stuck, it would be up to me to deal with the consequences.

These people did not have the provisions they were told to have. (The state of Florida says 3 days of food and water minimum.) They did not leave when they were told to leave. And it is the state's fault that they are dealing with the consequences of those actions?

It is the states fault that Louisiana National Guard was not mobilized on Sunday in the norther part of the state. (And several other shortcomings). But if you are going to put all action and all decision making for your survival in the hands of the state, then do what the state says. If you are going to make your own decisions, then be prepared to face the consequences.

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