Recently, I had a discussion with an old friend about politics. The conversation, in a nutshell, was my friend's disbelief over the fact that I'm probably the most conservative person she knows. She had many complaints about the Republican powers that be and wanted to know why I supported them.
Yahoo news reported this week on the criticism that has befallen the Bush administration over its response to Hurricane Katrina.
There have been hearings and inquiries over this matter because, apparently, people need someone to blame for this natural disaster.
Michael Brown, former head of FEMA, has also endured much criticism. What is amazing to me is that an event as unpredictable as a hurricane could be blamed on anyone.
Beyond that, I'm surprised at just how much everyone knows about the situation in New Orleans and who they can blame in the White House, while they know so little about their own state and city.
The question is: Why are we so concerned about what's happening out there, rather than what's happening right here?
Why is it we know about the scandals in the Bush administration but not one of our City Council members? Why can we name our national senators, but not our own state representatives?
This great nation was not founded on the basis of top-down politics - that is what the framers of the Constitution sought to avoid. The power is in the people, not the government.
And this Katrina situation is a perfect example. George W. Bush is not this nation's babysitter. He is our leader. And FEMA is a national disaster relief organization. They have an entire nation to look out for. What more do people expect from them?
Maybe they should have prevented Katrina all together. I'm sure that would've been well-within their power, if they had only tried. Come on.
I'm sure many of you faithful readers can recall a time - last year - when our fair city and county faced a state of emergency.
Did we complain? Certainly.
But to the president of the United States? Of course not.
Granted, one cannot compare Katrina and the Muncie ice storm of 2005, but the point is still the same. Natural disasters happen.
And frankly, it is not the president's job to clean them up. It is the local government's job first, then the states'.
And if the states need aid, they can appeal to the federal government or other states for it - to suggest otherwise is simply ludicrous.
To have hearings over how well the Bush administration responded to Katrina is equally ludicrous.
Now I do not mean to take away anything from those who have suffered so much at the hands of Katrina, nor do I claim to have all the answers. In all honesty, why would the Bush administration make a priority out of something that was of purely local interest to the state of Louisiana? That makes absolutely no sense.
The federal government is empowered to do other things. Blaming the Bush administration - or worse, suggesting that Katrina proves the government does not care about the poor or minorities - is nothing more than grinding one's political axe on the backs of those who have suffered and lost so much already.
And that is exactly as shameful as it sounds.
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