In my other screed from today, I asked whether the immense demands Americans place on their government might have slowed the response to Hurricane Katrina.
Now, I must ask another question: Do we set up the American government to fail in our eyes?
In the modern era, we expect the federal government to solve all our problems. Americans perceive their government officials not as maintainers of law and order, but as wizards who can ameliorate every difficulty. One of the problems that exists with this mindset, though, is the nonexistance of any such wizards. The bureaucrats and politicians who comprise our national government are human beings, just like the rest of the populace, who have superhuman expectations to fulfill. When they can’t meet those expectations, Americans believe they have failed in their duties.
Let’s examine reactions to Hurricane Katrina, for example. Regardless of how lean our government might have been, time would have been necessary for FEMA units and National Guard contingents to reach New Orleans and stabilize the city. This is especially true considering New Orleans still had thousands of people trapped inside. Any operation to rescue and evacuate them would have required extensive preparation. The alternative would have been rushing in half-cocked and doing less good in the long run.
Yet within a day or two after Hurricane Katrina, many people condemned President George W. Bush and every politician down the line for not doing enough to help New Orleans. One could legitimately criticize the government for not having a skeletal presence in New Orleans, at least to reassure the victims help was there, and more was on the way. But expecting enough government agents and equipment to assist thousands of people to materialize in a day reeks with absurdity.
Many critics have also lambasted the government for not doing enough to fortify New Orleans to withstand a Category Four or Five hurricane. These criticisms have validity; the federal government could have done more to help New Orleans prepare for the strongest possible hurricanes. Still, money and time are finite, and the national government must help guard regions all over the country against disaster. One could understand federal reticence over the decades to pour cash into New Orleans for protection against a hurricane with little chance of occurring.
By not understanding the limits of government capabilities, through such examples as I’ve outlined, do we make government failure, as far as the public’s concerned, inevitable?
I think the answer is yes. This could spark widespread dissatisfaction with our government that no politician could resolve, which could erode the authority of government. That could imperil the government’s ability to maintain order in this country.
So, how do I react to Katrina?
I won’t condemn government officials as failures for their policies in the past. They were human beings trying to administrate a whole country. Mistakes are inevitable. I would just like for them not to repeat errors.
My point with this screed, however, isn’t to insist we shouldn’t be angry about the government’s slow response to Katrina. We should. Americans should temper their rage, though, with the knowledge government can’t optimally solve all problems. We should stay our final judgment on the government’s competence or lack thereof.
About the Author
I'm Jason Vines, a web developer at a research institution in Washington, DC. I graduated from George Washington University with a bachelor's degree in political science, with a minor in journalism. I enjoy philosophy and web scripting, as well as reading, writing, history, video games, travel, and photography.
