Junto Boys

THE ROAD TO UTOPIA. . .

. . . is paved with reality.

If there is one central message that's clear from Hurricane Katrina and 911, it's that the government is a slow moving organism that is paralyzed by unexpected events. It's not the people who run government are thoughtless, careless or brainless, but that we have too many of them and they don't know how to coordinate with one another outside the established patterns.

Although politicians have convinced us that every human ill can be solved by the government, public employees have learned that such rhetoric comes and goes as do the elected representatives. You’ll notice that all big photo ops are the passing of some law named after some headline that the press has been beating into the ground. How many photo ops are created by solving a problem no one cares about today? Do you think anyone would have showed up two weeks ago for a Rose Garden signing of the Federal Levy strengthening act?

When you work for the government you're rarely there to solve problems, because the politicians that created you have long forgotten you. Instead, you find reasons to justify your promotion to the next level. This is usually achieved by not rocking the boat. Unfortunately, the creative thinking that needs to take place to foresee tragic events requires that someone rock the boat. Now who is going to do that? Instead everyone takes the CYA route. Create a system, follow the system, and scratch head when system results in disaster. As long as you can show the tracks A to B to C to D, then you were just doing your job and not to blame.

The Mayor of New Orleans waited too long for the mandatory evacuation. He of all people must know that his town is full of poor people who rely on public transportation. But even if he did call the evacuation a day early, I don’t think he had realistic plan of what to do with the masses that couldn’t leave. The reason he didn’t have a plan is that the mayor before him didn’t have a plan either. It’s these kinds of failures of vision that are common in all levels of government. Now if this guy had been a Republican they would be calling him a racist for not foreseeing the disaster. Instead, he’s painted as a victim of the next available Republican. Let’s see, we have a Democrat governor, a Democrat Senator, a green Republican Senator that no one recognizes on TV and finally that guy we’ve been beating up for not talking to the lady in Crawford. Aha, I knew we’d find a Republican at the root of this if we looked hard enough.

I’ve heard that Bush’s refusal to sign Kyoto created the hurricane. I’ve heard that Federal funding cuts kept them from repairing the levy. I’ve heard that President Bush is vacationing in Texas and doesn’t care about the victims because he is a racist. It’s a multiple choice and you’re allowed to hate Bush for any and all of these reasons. What we cannot do is discuss possible fault from the mayor or governor who are beyond reproach and only want what is best for people.

Voices on TV were complaining the other night about lack of food and water and they wondered why we could parachute supplies to Afghanistan and not the Superdome. What they forget is how long it took for us to make those drops. It took us weeks to invade Afghanistan and a year and half to invade Iraq. The government doesn’t respond quickly to new situations.

One thing more. Louisiana voted for Bush in 2000 and 2004, but New Orleans voted for Gore and Kerry and they voted for a Mayor who waited to evacuated the city with about 12 hours notice. Instead of expecting results from a guy you didn’t believe in to begin with, why not ask why your choice as city leader was caught with his pants down? And maybe that’s just it. The louder we scream that Bush hates New Orleans it might obscure the fact that New Orleans elected a guy who was the first in a chain of mistakes and compounded problems. The media isn’t going to look there for the answer. They’ve found their Republican to hang the blame on.

But the next time they fill out their ballots, maybe citizens of large one-party cities should ask themselves if they’re hiring a real leader or a guy the political machine just spit up. After all, Bush will be gone in 2009 and with Hillary in the White House someone local might be needed to take the blame.