A word on preparation (and it won't be my last...)
Shortly after 9/11, I printed out FEMA's publication, "Are You Ready? A Guide to Citizen Preparedness" from www.ready.gov. This helpful guide tells people like me how to prepare for a disaster - anything from a terrorist attack to a natural disaster.
Right off the bat, the intro says, "We live in a different world than we did before September 11, 2001. We are more aware of our vulnerabilities, more appreciative of our freedoms and more understanding that we have a personal responsibility for the safety of our families, our neighbors and our nation."
Or not.
I printed the guide out YEARS ago. After watching the New Orleans debacle, and going back and reading the guide, I want to puke. The "news" is SCREAMING about how slow the government is about getting aid to the people who, for whatever reason, didn't get out of New Orleans. I see FEMA's guide wasn't widely read.
More quotes:
"Local responders may not be able to reach you immediately, or they may need to focus their efforts elsewhere."
"You should know how to respond to severe weather or any disaster that could occur in your area -- hurricanes, earthquakes, extreme cold or flooding. You should also be ready to be self sufficient for at least three days." (Emphasis added.)
Look, I know there were tons of people who, for whatever reason, couldn't get out of N.O. That being said, I'm sick of the media howling about the government's inability to spoon-feed everyone.
Fools, they told you it would be this way. If more people had made the minimum of preparations (in the face of a Category 4 hurricane, for God's sake) - just a few candy bars and a gallon of water - the government might not be so overburdened.
The gulf coast is a disaster in it's truest sense. People are indeed suffering. God help them. But it didn't have to be this bad.
Get the lead out and learn to take care of yourself. America is not the nanny state, and it never should be. Our nation wasn't built by whiners demanding a handout. Where has our self respect gone?
www.ready.gov
Right off the bat, the intro says, "We live in a different world than we did before September 11, 2001. We are more aware of our vulnerabilities, more appreciative of our freedoms and more understanding that we have a personal responsibility for the safety of our families, our neighbors and our nation."
Or not.
I printed the guide out YEARS ago. After watching the New Orleans debacle, and going back and reading the guide, I want to puke. The "news" is SCREAMING about how slow the government is about getting aid to the people who, for whatever reason, didn't get out of New Orleans. I see FEMA's guide wasn't widely read.
More quotes:
"Local responders may not be able to reach you immediately, or they may need to focus their efforts elsewhere."
"You should know how to respond to severe weather or any disaster that could occur in your area -- hurricanes, earthquakes, extreme cold or flooding. You should also be ready to be self sufficient for at least three days." (Emphasis added.)
Look, I know there were tons of people who, for whatever reason, couldn't get out of N.O. That being said, I'm sick of the media howling about the government's inability to spoon-feed everyone.
Fools, they told you it would be this way. If more people had made the minimum of preparations (in the face of a Category 4 hurricane, for God's sake) - just a few candy bars and a gallon of water - the government might not be so overburdened.
The gulf coast is a disaster in it's truest sense. People are indeed suffering. God help them. But it didn't have to be this bad.
Get the lead out and learn to take care of yourself. America is not the nanny state, and it never should be. Our nation wasn't built by whiners demanding a handout. Where has our self respect gone?
www.ready.gov
posted by Alpineman, RN at 12:11 PM
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