September 05,2005

My friend forwarded a column to me about the victims of the hurricane and how the federal government had failed humanity in general and the people of New Orleans in particular by not adequately helping them. I am in agreement with any effort to alleviate misery but such efforts must be guided at least as much by reason as by compassion. Giving a detoxing junkie "just one little dose" to ease his or her discomfort in the short term will perpetuate an existence of degradation in the long term.

What has really been revealed by the situation in New Orleans is that after generations of welfare and unlimited government handouts the poor are still just as poor but are now hopelessly incapable of taking charge of any aspect of their lives. When Big Brother's subsidies are suspended for even a day they are screaming for help and blaming their misfortune on whoever they think should be taking care of them at the moment. They are less than children; children at least have a desire to grow up and do all the neat things they see grown-ups doing. These people have been reduced by their constant, utter dependence to the status of animals. They are government livestock; if a storm is brewing they are unable to do anything for themselves except mill about their corral and hope that someone (an adult; a human) leads them into the barn for safety. If no one shows up to take charge of them they will stampede/riot in the classic response of livestock to something they cannot understand; basically anything other than being provided with life's necessities by someone else. One day spent walking north would improve a person's lot more than a week of wailing and groveling before the television cameras. But that would require initiative, courage and above all; faith in oneself.

It is not a racial issue; it is simply the inevitable, and well understood, result of any group of people being dehumanized by being prevented from developing the individual sufficiency that is the defining element of human beings.

The tragedy in New Orleans underscores the plight of the dependent poor but they are only the most immediately vulnerable. The political cancer of socialism has grown so deeply into this country that there is now more than half our population collecting some form of government entitlement, subsidy or just plain handout. Most of this group is not trapped in the inner cities so they are a step or two removed from what we see in New Orleans. But they are already growing very uneasy as the indirect effects of the hurricane; higher energy prices, reduced availability etc. begin to settle upon them. Imagine the effects of a financial disaster or any catastrophe, even in a foreign country, that sent our economy reeling. More than half our population unsupported and no longer able to support themselves, most of them unprotected by the infrastructure of family and community. A situation so critical that only two results could occur; tyranny or revolution. 'They' are convinced there will be no revolt.

The policies of the federal government have been gradually destroying the middle class for decades. They couldn't do it overtly by force and violence so it was done subtly with alms and entitlements. The independence and political influence of this class made it difficult for them to be directly controlled; better by far to have a class of dependents with little real influence. Those who are dependent upon the government will always perpetuate the interests of their masters lest the scraps from the federal table cease to fall their way. If they feel "entitled" to live off the government they must also feel obligated to assure the government is always there to provide for them. Their ability to truly affect the course of events becomes purely rhetorical. They will not change anything because they dare not change anything. Soon we will be a society of two castes; the government-dependent poor and the ruling political and economic elite: The water treaders and those who throw the tiny and infrequent life preservers.

But also worth considering is this; if one fifth of the population of a city of 500,000 can expose the government as being naked under its heavy armor, think what might happen if a sudden, un-evacuated, disaster did somehow overtake the rest of us. Like that detoxing junkie there would be great suffering but it could also provide a window of opportunity that hasn't been seen in America for 229 years.

The column my friend sent ended with the poignant question "who are we if we can't take care of our own?" I think the real question is "What are we if we can't take care of ourselves." The answer to that question is wandering helpless and pitiful around the dirty streets of New Orleans.

Lee Robinson welcomes your feedback!

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