Those wise
and yet haunting words spoken by one of our nation’s greatest presidents
couldn’t ring more true – especially today, as winter sets in on an estimated
130,000 of our fellow Americans who are still struggling without power. Many
live without heat, hot water or inhabitable homes and question the government’s
efforts to alleviate their condition.
Amid
the election frenzy, several mainstream media outlets instantly praised the
Obama administration’s response to the Hurricane Sandy devastation in the
Northeast. But let’s look beneath the congratulatory headlines to see the real
and horrifying picture of what’s happening.
“Sitting
there last night you could see your breath,” displaced resident Brian Sotelo
told the Asbury Park Press. “At (Pine Belt) the Red Cross made an announcement
that they were sending us to permanent structures up here that had just been
redone, that had washing machines and hot showers and steady electric, and they
sent us to tent city. We got (expletived).”
Sotelo
said Blackhawk helicopters patrol the skies “all day and night” and a black car
with tinted windows surveys the camp while the government moves heavy equipment
past the tents at night. According to the story, reporters aren’t even allowed
in the fenced complex, where lines of displaced residents form outside portable
toilets. Security guards are posted at every door, and residents can’t even use
the toilet or shower without first presenting I.D.
“They
treat us like we’re prisoners,” Ashley Sabol told Reuters. “It’s bad to say,
but we honestly feel like we’re in a concentration camp.”
Snow
and icy slush seep into living areas through the bottoms of the government
tents.
Meanwhile,
officials are said to be banning residents from taking pictures and even
cutting off WiFi and power access.
“After
everyone started complaining and they found out we were contacting the press,
they brought people in,” Sotelo said. “Every time we plugged in an iPhone or
something, the cops would come and unplug them.”
He
added, “Everybody is angry over here. It’s like being in prison.”
In
New York, residents of Gerritsen Beach have banded together to survive.
“With
all due respect to the federal issue, we’re used to taking care of ourselves,”
Doreen Garson, the acting volunteer fire chief, told the Washington Post as
area residents received hot meals outside a trailer. “I don’t know what FEMA is
really doing for anyone.”
Some
citizens say FEMA has distributed checks to fix their homes, but bureaucratic
hurdles mean relief amounts are determined inconsistently and may be
insufficient to cover damage. In some cases, the rebuilding funds are
distributed even when reconstruction doesn’t make sense because the destroyed
homes are located in high-risk areas.
Meanwhile, FEMA – which previously provided trailers to victims
of Hurricane Katrina that made residents sick from toxic levels of formaldehyde
– will now bring more temporary homes to New York and New Jersey. The
government assures us that this time the homes have been
approved by the Department of Housing and Urban Development.
In the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy, FEMA failed to have bottled
water and other supplies ready for storm victims – a week after the storm hit – and was
forced to seek help from private vendors to meet residents’ needs.
While generous citizens fill trucks with donations and goods for
hurricane survivors, FEMA is reportedly demanding they stop –
because the federal agency has “strict rules on what can and can’t be
accepted.”
Where
did we go wrong? The moment we began looking to government to fill the role of
caretaker, provider and savior.
What
happened to the days when communities and churches were the places Americans
turned to for help? We need to get back to basics where Americans
care for our brothers and sisters and help them in times such as these.
Churches
and businesses are reaching out to people who’ve been displaced, packing U-Haul
trucks and 18-wheelers with food, diapers, blankets, toiletries and other
needed goods.
“We decided that it wasn’t enough for us to simply declare the
gospel; we’ve got to demonstrate it,” pastor Jerry Young declared from
New Hope Baptist Church in Mississippi. “What we’re trying to do now is
demonstrate the gospel.”
Just
as these grassroots volunteers have been sacrificing so much to help displaced
citizens and clean up storm-ravaged areas in the Northeast, I urge America’s
citizen volunteers, churches and businesses to follow their examples.
Let’s
stop making the mistake of expecting government to be our savior in times like
these.
We
are told eight times in the Bible to love our neighbor. This Thanksgiving week,
America has an extraordinary opportunity to do just that. Let’s band together
and show our fellow citizens that we care and we won’t leave them to the
“mercy” of the government in their time of need.
sourceP.P.S. We can also divulge that Goldman Sachs and JP Morgan continue illegal manipulation of energy futures aka oil and natural gas.
