Thoughts on Katrina aftermath

Believe it or not, but a small number of politicians and pundits from both sides are bemoaning the devastation of Hurricane Katrina as if it’s harbinger of America’s impending downfall. The extremists on both sides of the political spectrum have their own selfish reasons for what can only be described as their near gloating over Katrina's destruction. The far right views Katrina as God’s wrath against sinful New Orleans. If the rest of “sinful” America doesn’t change our ways and repent, we can expect more of the same. The far left sees the images of devastation as retribution for our alleged bullying foreign policy, like the war in Iraq. The scenes of chaos in New Orleans “prove” that we may be a power, but no longer a “super” power.

Extremists on both sides gloat over the human suffering wrought by Katrina simply because they think it vindicates their line of thinking. They’ll never admit as much, but in so many of their articles and words, the gloating tone is palpable.

But both are wrong. Humans are resilient. Americans are very resilient. The vast majority of us in the middle are busy donating money and helping our fellow citizens. We will study what went wrong and why, we will learn lessons, and we will move on—just like we always have.

Yes Katrina has brought out the worst in some of us, but for a great many more, it has brought out the best.