A friend of mine from college lives in Dallas, Texas near where some of the refugees from New Orleans have been placed. His wife, god bless her, immediately went down to the shelter to find out what they needed and went to the store to buy essentials to contribute.
A notice went out on an e-mail list of all of these friends from school asking for help. I was glad for another opporunity to help that I knew was very directly connected to helping those impacted.
This is how the best stuff gets done in America - back channel networks of people who just want to help. Given the chance we can be very generous people. I will admit that I would never go to New Orleans to help with rescue or cleanup. Even if I had the skills I wouldn't have the stomach for it. I will gladly help those with the bravery and abilities to go. I hope that many others like myself find a way to help. This disaster has changed many lives. Simple human compassion demands that we assist in the ways we can.
14 comments:
If this is how the "best stuff gets done in America" why is the result, considered by most experts regardless of political agenda, so bad.
Most experts are looking at the institution's, foundation's and government's handling of the situation, not the contributions of individuals.
The best of America should be the institutions, foundations and government. How many of us would want our own fate, in dire circumstances, be left to the contributions of individuals.
The best of America should be institutions, foundations and government, but individuals are much more accessible. I'd first ask my neighbor for help, then my relatives and only afterwards the government.
What if your neighbor was underwater, the other neighbor left town, the other neighbor was on a rooftop and your relatives lived in another town (that was closer to the eye)and your car was flooded, etc. The worse case scenario occurred and the government, institutions and foundations should have been funded and prepared to help. There are times when rugged individualism isn't going to cut it.
I guess you would have turned down the helicopter lift off your roof and waited for Aunt Josephine to come get you.
No, I wouldn't have turned down a rescue, nor would I have waited for someone to come get me. I would have picked up my baby, toddler, diaper bag, food, water, clothes, etc, grabbed my neighbors, loaded my invalid grandmother into a wheelbarrow and WALKED AWAY! Rugged individualism is a great start.
Rugged individualism is sometimes thinly disguised prejudice and usually preached by those who have never experienced any more trauma than a flooded basement and a dead car battery. You are clearly a superior human being albeit without children.
Clearly superior if you can walk away from running flood waters no doubt! But no backpedaling now. Stay true to your philosophy. Friends, family then gov. Of course you would have turned down a rescue from that nasty gov. helipcopter. It is a shame you weren't there to tell all those ignorant people how to escape a hurricane and flood. So, I guess this is kind of their own fault huh. Maybe the world is better off with a little less poor around. By the way were did you get the wheelbarrow. Oh I guess anyone who is ANYONE has a wheelbarrow around. With cushions I hope.
Goodbye.
How would rugged individualism have helped the elderly that drowned in the nursing homes. Oh, I forgot you already left town.
I am confused. Do rugged individualist "share our burden" with others or just other rugged individualists?
Hey anonymous, don't fall into the fallacy that one can offer no comments on a situation until one experiences it fully thereself. I guess only hurricane victims will be qualified to discuss this disaster from now on. An appropriate balance between rugged individualism and a complete dependence on government is the issue here. As always the best spot will be somewhere in the middle. But I will be damned if when there is trouble that I will wait for help if I can help myself. And I am certainly human enough to help those that need it. Perhaps I should wait for the government to help those people in the nursing homes instead of helping them myself.
I cannot figure out how asking my neighbor for help has suppenly turned me into a prejudiced idiot who would turn down a rescue.
Oh, and what's with the belittling? Express your views without resorting to mockery and disparagment and name calling. Hyperbole is okay, insults are not.
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