A Contrast

Having witnessed the events of the past week, and the response from various parts of our society I keep wondering one thing.

In 2003 there was this incredibly tiny threat posed by Iraq. People feard that Saddam might eventually have developed the capacity to possibly hurt some of us sometime in the future. I think I've got that about right. In the face of that trivial danger, rather than take on the personal responsibility of simply stiffening one's own spine and facing small threats with courage, a large portion of the country felt it imperative to call upon the federal government to take action to calm these fears and commit several thousand of our young men and women in uniform to death, thousands more to be maimed and wounded, and $200 Billion of our treasure spent.

Then, this past week, with thousands of our citizens in clear, mortal peril in the very short term and a need to spend a little time and perhaps a few percent of the cost of Iraq to save those citizens lives, the very people who were so intent on have the federal government protect them from their fear of Saddam can't see any reason for the federal government to help the people of New Orleans. Now come the calls for personal responsibility and the sudden realization that no federal help should be expected.

I find this deplorable. How can so many people be so singularly concerned only with their own personal safety and be so callous about the rest of the citizens of this country?