What exactly, is OUR responsibility?

On Thursday, Sept. 11, it was predicted that Hurricane Ike could be devastating to Galveston Bay, creating a storm surge that could push floodwaters into Houston.  One million people were told to evacuate, and two million did, from coastal towns between Texas and Louisiana.  But it was estimated that more than 100,000 people through that region, as well as 20,000 people in Galveston, had disregarded the mandatory evacutation orders.

The storm was actually not as bad as it could have been when it came ashore on Sept. 13th -- a full two days after it was determined that it could be one of the worst hurricanes to ever hit land, potentially creating a virtual tsunami of 20 foot waves that would directly hit Galveston.

It was a bad storm, it was forecast, it was seen on radar, it was killing people in Cuba as people chose to stay put.  What were those 20,000 people thinking?  Oh, I can survive a 20 foot tsunami.

Are you kidding me?

If you are on a ship and it is sinking, do you go down with the ship because it contains all your belongings and you don't want to leave them?

Do I need to answer that question?

It used to be, "back in the day," that people would be told to evacuate because a hurricane was coming, and they would, and then the hurricane would fizzle out as soon as it hit land and the potential damage was minor and people left their homes for nothing.  So people stopped leaving their homes because they didn't believe that the forecasters knew what they were doing.

And they probably didn't -- because weather is hard to forecast, so they were erring on the side of caution much of the time, stressing the worst-case scenario so that people wouldn't get hurt.

But these days they forecast these things pretty darn well, and while they still play out the worst-case scenario -- the storms these days are BRUTAL because of all the temperature fluctuations, etc. (I'd say global warming, but Sarah Palin has said there is no such thing, so I guess she must be right because she is an expert because she lives in Alaska and it's always cold there I guess, so well, anyway ...) what I am trying to say is, if you see a big storm coming your way and you know that you can DIE, maybe you should pretend your home is sinking and grab what you can and save your life.

I mean, come on.  As it is now, Galveston was so hard hit, the mayor has said not to come back, because you can not live there at this time.  It hasn't even been decided if it makes sense to rebuild.  What it is, is a sunk ship.  

I don't mean to sound heartless, but we need to be responsible for our own personal safety.  It is not the government's job to take care of us, because they do such a sucky job of it anyway, if that is what you are relying on, then heaven help you.  

We had an ice storm here, years ago.  The entire area was encased in ice -- trees were down in roads, power lines were out, it was nuts.  And I'll tell you this, not for ONE SECOND did it ever occur to me that someone was going to help me.  We had no heat, no access to food, water, etc.  Well, we didn't HERE.  But if you got in your car and drove 20 miles, the whole world was going along as though nothing had ever happened.  Oh, that is because it didn't happen there.

So I don't get this mentality of sitting in your sweat (if you currently reside in Galveston, it is really hot, you have no air conditioning, food or water) and waiting.  I DON'T GET IT.   Oh I know, they're too poor, too old, too this, too that.

If your boat has sunk, you must find another place to perch.  End of story.  If you've lost everything, then you must move on and find a way to rebuild your life.   But this constant waiting for the government to pick up the pieces, it's RIDICULOUS.  There is a risk to living in a coastal environment.  That risk?  You might lose everything in a hurricane.  That, is, THE END OF THE STORY.

So you begin a new chapter.

But oh no.  Now it will be all about FEMA's response effort (which thus far has been major, but not enough, because there are too many people, too big of an area to cover) and I guess instead of moving the heck OUT of a place where you can't get food, etc. you just sit there and wait and see what happens???????

Have I mentioned I don't get this?

What would I do?  If a potential tsunami was going to hit my house?  Seriously?

I'd assume my house was lost, so I would go through and pick out the things that I wanted.  Considering I am leaving in a car, obviously that can't be much.  I'd have us all pack enough clothes to exist in indefinitely, assuming we'd have access to a washing machine.  I'd take my pets, a flash drive containing all that is on my computer, my laptop and a few books.  I would then find a relative that is inland with the biggest house and move in with them.  If I had no relatives, I would find a friend.  I would not say "do you mind," I would say, "I have to live with you for a bit because otherwise I might die."

This attachment to things, a failure to use common sense, the belief that someone else is responsible for your welfare ... these are examples of what is wrong with this country, this world, this universe if you will.

If everyone works together, then great things happen.  But if you choose to not listen to experts as they predict the unthinkable, and you choose to stay put in a potentially life threatening environment, then you really have no right to be rescued.  You had the choice, and making the wrong one is not the government's fault.  It's yours.