A congressional report released this week states, in case it wasn’t obvious, that the government’s response to Katrina was a “failure of leadership.” The report, containing headings such as “Failure of Initiative,” voiced a concern for what should happen if the government does not receive advance warning of a national disaster, considering the events following Hurricane Katrina, a disaster that officials knew was coming.
Ed Board recognizes that certain actions involving the repose to Katrina were the fault of government officials. However, Ed Board also feels it is necessary to examine other aspects of the disaster, especially the actions of many citizens.
According to two reports from the Government Accountability Office and the Homeland Security Department’s office, up to 900,000 of the 2.5 million applicants who received aid from The Federal Emergency Management Agency were based on false social security numbers or fake addresses and names. Additional money appears to have been wasted on hotel rooms for victims that were paid at retail, including $438-a-night rooms in New York City and beachfront condos in Florida at $375 a pop.
Employees at a Red Cross call center in Bakersfield, Ca., planned to steal emergency money for themselves and others, according to the Justice Department probe. Five dozen recently shut down Web sites attempted to either acquire money or steal identities from people who wished to give.
Taking these events into account, Ed Board feels the government is not the only entity that should be blamed in the aftermath of Katrina. In this crisis situation, many American citizens chose to act irresponsibly, not to mention criminally, and Ed Board considers this just as atrocious as the actions (or inactions) or the government.
Ed Board agrees the government should be adequately prepared for disaster relief, but we also feel citizens should hold some personal accountability, as well. In Ed Board’s view, people should always display some sort of values or moral competency – especially in disaster situations. What better time to show some ethical stamina than in a national crisis? When is a more appropriate opportunity to pull out those save-for-a-rainy-day comportments than in the aftermath of a natural disaster? Elementary values and responsibility for one’s actions should be demanded in all situations from all people, particularly in catastrophe circumstances.
Ed Board recognizes that many people responded to Hurricane Katrina appropriately by giving support and by, well, not stealing money from the disaster relief funds. Ed Board appreciates the actions of those people.
However, despite the generous contributions of most people, Ed Board feels that even one thief of disaster aid, or any aid for that matter, is one offender too many.
