Humane Aid in America
Why does empathy and emotional
solidarity only seems to coalesce after major natural disasters and
horrific communal trauma?
It seems hypocritical to praise the act
of raising money in order aid and help victims in a knee jerk
reaction when, in times of relative peace and harmony, the same
people can't muster an iota of empathy. They are morally unequipped
to benevolently care for the same people prior to them befalling a
life altering disaster.
Why are most people, especially our
elected political representatives, unable to foresee that assisting
someone out of an economics or social quagmire, by passing
legislation which supports them with subsidies during peacetime, is also
commendable. Have we forgotten the horrendous state of disrepair of the
levees and flood surge protection in pre-Katrina Louisiana?
According to US News and World Report;
“the American Society of
Civil Engineers estimated that one-quarter of the 607,380 bridges
across the United States were functionally obsolete or structurally
deficient in 2012 – placing the cost of repairs at $76 billion. The
sheer weight of the evidence shows that it's just a matter of time
before the next bridge failure.”
The explosion in West Texas
which claimed the lives of 15 and injured about 200, appears to be
rife with institutional negligence, political obfuscation and
corporate monetary gluttony. Ramit Plushnick-Masti of the Associated
Press, who has investigated and covered the story intensely, said
during NPR's Diane Rehm show, that the public grew up around and in
proximity of the fertilizer plant over the past 30-50 years. Without
even delving into the ISO certifications and the EPA stringencies,
this is a classic scenario of zoning.
We don't know when if ever the blame
will be laid on which governmental agency's failure but the fact that
the zoning was distorted, ignored or rezoned is obvious. It seems to
reflect the increasing prevalence of a revolving door system. A
system of murky back room horse trading deals which ultimately leads
to thinly veiled plutocratic control. The lobbying groups or thinks
tanks function as half way houses for aspiring politicians and
burgeoning captains of industry.
Recently, the Senators from the
tornado ravished state of Oklahoma both voted earlier in the year to
deny federal relief funding to the hurricane Sandy victimized areas
of the NorthEast. However, when it was reported that some of the
schools which were struck by the massive tornados were not equipped
with adequate storm protection, they "evolved" their previous
ideological dogma significantly.
It
seems unfathomably disingenuous to proclaim oneself a magnanimous
public official when one showers praise and merits on other public
officials who they themselves only register empathy when it effects
them directly.
No comments:
Post a Comment