In her commentary on Monday night, CNN's Campbell Brown harshly criticized President George W. Bush for his administration's response in the wake of hurricane Katrina in 2005. First of all, Brown, like many other mainstream journalists, is not qualified to comment on anything. It should be obvious to even the casual viewer that she severely lacks in-depth knowledge of the issues she covers, so she should be keeping her opinions to herself.
And to claim that her opinion is not debatable is the height of arrogance. But more importantly (and ironically), her remarks reveal that she is apparently full of a lot of the bias and bull that she claims her program eschews.
I get so tired of ignorant people like her bashing President Bush for the Katrina disaster. Local and state authorities were just as much to blame (if not more so) as the federal government. Yet liberal blowhards like Ms. Brown never seem to want to hold them accountable. Could that have something to do with the fact that New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin and then-Louisiana Governor Kathleen Blanco are liberal Democrats?
That argument aside, Brown's criticism is still flawed. She points out the fact that there are victims of that disaster who still have yet to completely recover. But those people lost so much because they lived in a known flood-prone area and many were not responsible enough to buy flood insurance. The government has warned people over and over that homeowner's insurance does not cover flood damage and that they therefore need to purchase flood insurance. And don't give me the renter's excuse. There is such a thing as renter's insurance. They should have considered that option.
And why are these people still waiting around for the government to help them after nearly three and a half years have gone by? Where did this sense of entitlement ever come from? Why haven't they at least made an effort to help themselves? Contrary to popular belief, the government does not owe anyone a new home, a new car, new clothes, or even food in the aftermath of a natural disaster. It is our responsibility to prepare for any such disaster. And when it is over, we are responsible for getting back on our feet and acquiring what we need.
Bottom line, we must learn to take charge of our own lives in this country, familiarize ourselves with the concept of personal responsibility, and quit blaming the government for every bad thing that happens to us.
Terry Mitchell is a software engineer, freelance writer, amateur political analyst, and blogger from Virginia, USA. He posts a least one article a day to his blog - http://commenterry.blogs.com - on subjects such as current events, politics, technology, society and culture, religion, health and well-being, self improvement, personal finance, trivia, and sports.
You can now have any article and blog post he writes – in advance, if you would like – for use in your book, newspaper, magazine, ezine, newsletter, website, or whatever!! This includes the thousands of articles and blog posts he's previously written. Contact him via this website or his blog for details.
Amen brother! I could never figure out why people think they are entitled to any help from anybody. We are fortunate to get the help that we do get and not place blame on everyone but ourselves when things go wrong. love your attitude towards the media!
Myla, thanks for the kind words. I would never have guessed that we thought alike on this issue. I am especially flattered because I have read some of your work and have been very impressed with what I've seen, although I don't necessarily agree with all of it. Have a good night and a great weekend.
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