Friday, September 2, 2005

Sam, the Giant

The United States is a slow moving giant, that can do anything, or crush anybody. But not quickly.

We put a man on the  moon, we overcame the awesome powers of Germany, Italy, and Japan combined, we ousted Hussein. But not quickly.  It took time.

We will relocate a whole cityful of people, house, and reestablish their way of life.  But not overnight.  Overnight we cannot even rescue them from the Superdome.

Maybe it is a good thing that we do not fly off in all directions when something bad happens.  After 9/11 we wanted to bomb SOMEBODY. Anybody would do. But big slow, moving Uncle Sam took his time, and then we annihilated Afghanistan.

But it would be helpful if we could move faster to help people with immediate needs. Katrina is not the last disaster we will experience. I am sure we will develop a disaster response plan.  But it will take time.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

You are right my friend. I hear so many people blaming the president. He acted immediately. It was the people on the ground plus the water that slowed everything. Helicopters were on standby the minute the weather cleared but the people on the ground, who had their hands full, couldn't tell them where to go. Most places were unsafe to land. Things take time and unfortunately, that is bad. But I believe they are all doing what they can.

Anonymous said...

Just a comment on your choice of wording. You said the USA "annihilated" Afghanistan. Oddly enough, though you NEVER hear it reported on the news today, we are still fighting in Afghanistan. Osama bin Laden is still evading capture, and his followers are still bombing subways, and firing missiles at ships. I can only hope the relief efforts in Louisiana and Mississippi are somewhat more comprehensive than your alleged annihilation.
-Paul

Anonymous said...

I agree with memes there is just so much can be done at a time. Think what it would have been like years ago when there wasn't such good communication. Paula