How big was Hurricane Katrina where you lived? I mean, am I biased in thinking it was one of the major national events of 2005? OK, just because I was kept out of my residence for six weeks because of mandatory evacuation, lost my car, job, health insurance, and stuff, wallowed in limbo and tears for weeks, and was forced to spend all my savings doesn't mean it was that huge for people who didn't live in New Orleans. I accept that. But come on, I am pretty sure lots of people donated money, and Katrina certainly is being covered by the media in pretty much every other American city even five months later.
Why, then, did we get skipped? I mean, and pardon my language, I think a huge WTF is due. For those keeping historical track at home, I am pretty sure the destruction of a major American city has not occurred since 1906. I admit to not having watched Bushie give his shoddy address on the state of his shoddy union, but I read the transcript. And personally, I was baffled. Perhaps shocked would be a better word. The Gulf Coast got 156 words out of 5,300.
But you know why Bush ignored us? I'll tell you what I think. I think we got shafted for two reasons. The first is that the Bush administration knows they dropped the ball on the FEMA/Katrina debacle. "Hey, Brownie ol' buddy, yer doin' a great job!" Feeling embarrassed yet, Bush? Right. So they'd rather pretend the destruction of an American city in a natural disaster didn't happen, because it makes them look bad.
The second reason is that Bush loves simplified, them vs. us, "morally" appealing figures of speech. (Doesn't matter if it's factually inaccurate, it appeals to our good old compassionate hearts, right?) This is the shit he thrives on. Man, is he stumped on Katrina. Because he got away with the War in Iraq garbage for far longer than he should have, by throwing out keywords like "evil" and "barbaric," and junk about "protecting" the country from "terror." But Katrina isn't politically expedient for him for precisely that reason: it was a natural disaster that probably caused "terror" in a lot more American lives than any possible terrorist attack, yet you can't blame Katrina on evil. You can't nail it down into a little constructed package and tell us who to blame.
All apologies to those affected by 9/11, which technically did have a higher death toll. But did it cause the largest American diaspora since the Civil War, the future social effects of which won't be measured for years? It did not. The thing I don't get is that NYC was something like 90% blue during the 2004 election. What I want to know is how on earth Bush managed to garner votes by convincing people in Bumfuck, Kansas that they needed to be protected from "terror" and "evil." Like anyone is ever going to bomb you idiots. Like anyone even visits your town. NYC actually got hit! And even they didn't fall for Bush's rhetoric! And somehow he turns this rhetoric, this 9/11 induced fear, into another term. To get back on point, though, Bush simply can't use what happened to New Orleans to further his own goals. So he leaves it out.
So yeah, where I live is apparently not part of the Union, but Iraq is. Hadn't you heard it's our new colony? Or at least important enough to waste nearly an entire address entitled the "State of the UNION" on. We really care about bringing "freedom" from "evil" to the Middle East. $400 billion to the "war." Less than a quarter of that to the Gulf Coast.
Oh boy. I'm going to wear my MAKE LEVEES NOT WAR shirt every day this week. But I might have to buy two or three more of them, so I can alternate them and not get smelly. Because, oh, did I mention I HAVE NOT HAD A SHOWER IN A MONTH? Because I still have no hot water.
This is America, Mr. Bush. Right here. Excuse me while I go stick my head under a freezing cold faucet.
