After the Deluge
"On the hills will stand waters.....He waters the hills from his heights, from the fruit of Your works the earth is satisfied."
Psalm 104, verses 5 (part) and 10
Jews around the world recite this Psalm every Rosh Chodesh; these words had a special poignancy this past Sunday and Monday (Rosh Chodesh Elul) in light of the devastation caused by Hurricane Katrina, especially in New Orleans. As relief and recovery efforts continue, those of us far from the scene of the tragedy can begin to ponder the lessons taught us by this event.
Why do devastating events like hurricanes, tsunamis, volcanoes, and earthquakes occur? Are they divine punishments for the immorality of mankind? (1)
Catastrophic events occur because the earth is a dyanmic system; the earth's crust and atmosphere are constantly in motion. As far as we know, our planet is the only one in the whole universe to have ever supported life, and its dynamic nature may have been (and may still be) essential to life in ways we do not (yet) understand.
I do not believe that people who happen to live in paths of natural disasters are any more deserving of divine wrath than those living elsewhere. We should, however, consider known environmental risks in choosing where to live.
Why was New Orleans particularly vulnerable to flooding?
Most of New Orleans lies below sea level, and is surrounded by Lake Pontchartrain and a bend in the Mississippi River. Canals link the Lake and the River. Huge levees and canal floodwalls have protected the city from floods until the canal-floodwalls were broken by Katrina. The floodwaters cannot subside naturally because the levees hold them in and surrounding water surfaces are higher, rather than lower than the grade-level of the city.
In the wake of the Hurricane, many residents of New Orleans looted stores and shot at people, including rescue and repair workers. Why?
Many people have an evil nature, and the collapse of law-enforcement removed the thin veneer of civilization that had previously restrained them. ( The same thing happened in Baghdad after the collapse of the Baath regime. American authorities were caught by surprise both times.) The violence kept many other people from bringing assistance to victims of the disaster, and thus increased the human suffering.
Why did it take so long for the National Guard to arrive in New Orleans?
The disaster quickly overwhelmed local and state authorities. President Bush gave initial responsibility for dealing with the crisis to Michael Brown, Director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). Brown, a political appointee, had no emergency management experience before joining FEMA in 2001.
Although the National Guard is usually employed to deal with natural disasters, in this particular case the Marine Corps and the Coast Guard would have been better equipped to operate in the waters that covered most of New Orleans. The Coast Guard is now rescuing survivors, but should have been deployed much earlier. The Marines, trained in amphibious operations, could have re-established order in flooded areas much faster than the National Guard. While the US military is trained and prepared to respond at once to a crisis anywhere in the world, it took about three days for the National Guard to arrive in New Orleans.
Some black politicians claim that federal help was so slow because most residents of New Orleans are black. Could this be true?
No, it is a blatant lie. First, there is no evidence that President Bush was aware of the racial make-up of New Orleans until after the disaster. Had the same thing happened in an all-white city, the same mediocre bureaucrats would have been in charge, and rescue efforts would have taken just as long .
However, the violence that impeded and delayed help probably would not have occurred in a white city, and that difference could have saved many lives. (2)
Can New Orleans ever be rebuilt as it was?
The floodwaters are already receding, and the technology to pump out the water is available. However, it would be foolhardy to rebuild the residential areas that were flooded. It would be wiser to build new housing on land above sea-level outside the city, and connect the newly-constructed communities with the port and business district with a modern transit system, possibly including both rail and boats. This would require rezoning of agricultural land for residential (including mult-family) use, probably by state law.
Yes, New Orleans will be rebuilt, but it will never be as it was.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1) For example, Rabbi Ovadia Yosef, spiritual leader of Israel's Shas Party speculated that Katrina might have been G-d's retribution for President Bush's support of the disengagement from Gaza.(ADL Bulletin, 9/9/05) The trouble is that the people in New Orleans who suffered the most probably didn't even vote for Bush, who did not suffer at all. I am sure that divine retribution can be better targeted than that.
(2) Although whites were responsible for many riots in America before 1965, all the major instances of urban violence since that year (Los Angeles 1965 and 1992, Crown Heights (NY), Detroit, Newark, Cleveland, Chicago, Washington, and Miami) were the work of black mobs. Milwaukee also had a minor black riot in July, 1967.
Psalm 104, verses 5 (part) and 10
Jews around the world recite this Psalm every Rosh Chodesh; these words had a special poignancy this past Sunday and Monday (Rosh Chodesh Elul) in light of the devastation caused by Hurricane Katrina, especially in New Orleans. As relief and recovery efforts continue, those of us far from the scene of the tragedy can begin to ponder the lessons taught us by this event.
Why do devastating events like hurricanes, tsunamis, volcanoes, and earthquakes occur? Are they divine punishments for the immorality of mankind? (1)
Catastrophic events occur because the earth is a dyanmic system; the earth's crust and atmosphere are constantly in motion. As far as we know, our planet is the only one in the whole universe to have ever supported life, and its dynamic nature may have been (and may still be) essential to life in ways we do not (yet) understand.
I do not believe that people who happen to live in paths of natural disasters are any more deserving of divine wrath than those living elsewhere. We should, however, consider known environmental risks in choosing where to live.
Why was New Orleans particularly vulnerable to flooding?
Most of New Orleans lies below sea level, and is surrounded by Lake Pontchartrain and a bend in the Mississippi River. Canals link the Lake and the River. Huge levees and canal floodwalls have protected the city from floods until the canal-floodwalls were broken by Katrina. The floodwaters cannot subside naturally because the levees hold them in and surrounding water surfaces are higher, rather than lower than the grade-level of the city.
In the wake of the Hurricane, many residents of New Orleans looted stores and shot at people, including rescue and repair workers. Why?
Many people have an evil nature, and the collapse of law-enforcement removed the thin veneer of civilization that had previously restrained them. ( The same thing happened in Baghdad after the collapse of the Baath regime. American authorities were caught by surprise both times.) The violence kept many other people from bringing assistance to victims of the disaster, and thus increased the human suffering.
Why did it take so long for the National Guard to arrive in New Orleans?
The disaster quickly overwhelmed local and state authorities. President Bush gave initial responsibility for dealing with the crisis to Michael Brown, Director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). Brown, a political appointee, had no emergency management experience before joining FEMA in 2001.
Although the National Guard is usually employed to deal with natural disasters, in this particular case the Marine Corps and the Coast Guard would have been better equipped to operate in the waters that covered most of New Orleans. The Coast Guard is now rescuing survivors, but should have been deployed much earlier. The Marines, trained in amphibious operations, could have re-established order in flooded areas much faster than the National Guard. While the US military is trained and prepared to respond at once to a crisis anywhere in the world, it took about three days for the National Guard to arrive in New Orleans.
Some black politicians claim that federal help was so slow because most residents of New Orleans are black. Could this be true?
No, it is a blatant lie. First, there is no evidence that President Bush was aware of the racial make-up of New Orleans until after the disaster. Had the same thing happened in an all-white city, the same mediocre bureaucrats would have been in charge, and rescue efforts would have taken just as long .
However, the violence that impeded and delayed help probably would not have occurred in a white city, and that difference could have saved many lives. (2)
Can New Orleans ever be rebuilt as it was?
The floodwaters are already receding, and the technology to pump out the water is available. However, it would be foolhardy to rebuild the residential areas that were flooded. It would be wiser to build new housing on land above sea-level outside the city, and connect the newly-constructed communities with the port and business district with a modern transit system, possibly including both rail and boats. This would require rezoning of agricultural land for residential (including mult-family) use, probably by state law.
Yes, New Orleans will be rebuilt, but it will never be as it was.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1) For example, Rabbi Ovadia Yosef, spiritual leader of Israel's Shas Party speculated that Katrina might have been G-d's retribution for President Bush's support of the disengagement from Gaza.(ADL Bulletin, 9/9/05) The trouble is that the people in New Orleans who suffered the most probably didn't even vote for Bush, who did not suffer at all. I am sure that divine retribution can be better targeted than that.
(2) Although whites were responsible for many riots in America before 1965, all the major instances of urban violence since that year (Los Angeles 1965 and 1992, Crown Heights (NY), Detroit, Newark, Cleveland, Chicago, Washington, and Miami) were the work of black mobs. Milwaukee also had a minor black riot in July, 1967.
posted by Gerald S Glazer at 11:17 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home