The kindness of strangers
Hurricane Katrina flooded America with grief,
causing both fear and empathy to surface. Its
damaging effects will persist for years. Vigilance
is required if we’re to bring our fellow
Americans back into the fold.
In history and government classes, we learn that
Democrats believe in a government structured to
provide care and opportunity to citizens of all
socio-economic levels. Republicans are said to
value a small government that fosters unencumbered
prosperity, and to encourage citizens to pursue
the benefits of a trickledown economy.
We’ll need to deploy both of these belief
systems as countless organizations, individuals
and government entities help hurricane victims
restore their lives.
The hurricane itself swept evenly across the
land, but it became apparent that those with the
least lost the most. Geography, poverty, bureaucracy,
racism and negligence are elements that contributed
to the fl awed preparation and response by local,
state and federal officials.
Even President Bush, known to maintain public
optimism at all times and in all situations, broke
from this five-year pattern to acknowledge that
the rescue and recovery efforts were unacceptable.
The U.S. Coast Guard showed immediate heroism
in the chaotic response to Katrina, but its success
was overshadowed by the ineffective performance
of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).
If a lack of federal coordination contributed
to the disaster‘s toll, nobody can claim
that individual efforts were less than valiant.
There’s been a global response to the call
for help. Even international governments opposed
to U.S. foreign policy have looked beyond politics
to extend a hand to Americans. In drastic situations,
kindness can be universal.
People on the North Lake campus have given of
themselves and their resources. One student has
volunteered time every weekend since evacuees
arrived in Texas; a North Lake staff member has
taken multiple family members into her home.
Administrators recently admitted 18 students
from the affected region. North Lake’s president,
Dr. Herlinda Glasscock, assembled a campus task
force at a time when numerous groups on campus
were responding with various grassroots efforts.
The creation of a unified North Lake response
will lead to solid ongoing support for the Gulf
Coast residents assimilating into our community.
The News-Register hopes that students
displaced from their college campuses, and the
lives they knew, will find a home among us. They
should know that everyone at North Lake will try
to help them through grief and chaos, and onward
towards happiness and success.
If that’s a tall order to fill, we’ll
at least point them in the right direction |
