New Orleans is sinking...
One of the things that I'm finding sad about the Katrina tragedy is that on this side of the border, more attention is being focused on Bush's incompetence than on the real plight of the desperate people in New Orleans.
Case in point: last night I talked to a group of extremely well-informed folks who itemized the myriad of things the administration had done wrong, or had not done. Who could argue? That's all known fact, and I don't love Bush at the best of times.
But when I said, "So, how should we be helping out," they said, "We shouldn't. The Americans have the resources, and they should be able to handle this."
See, that's the kind of smugness that makes me embarrassed to be Canadian, and I'm hearing it EVERYWHERE. By that sort of logic, you wouldn't send flowers to a funeral or bake your neighbours a pie when a baby was born, because after all, those affected could afford to do it themselves. What a crock. Our best friends in the world are drowning in sewage and strangling with red tape, and it's all just punditry and rhetoric up here.
We seem to have turned this tragedy into an excuse to bitch about US policy. That's too easy a response, in my view, and not a useful one.
To my American friends out there, I want you to know that Canadians care. We really do. We're mad about all the inequities and ignorance that are causing so many to suffer, but honestly and truly, we're here to help. I truly hope we'll get the chance to show it.
Case in point: last night I talked to a group of extremely well-informed folks who itemized the myriad of things the administration had done wrong, or had not done. Who could argue? That's all known fact, and I don't love Bush at the best of times.
But when I said, "So, how should we be helping out," they said, "We shouldn't. The Americans have the resources, and they should be able to handle this."
See, that's the kind of smugness that makes me embarrassed to be Canadian, and I'm hearing it EVERYWHERE. By that sort of logic, you wouldn't send flowers to a funeral or bake your neighbours a pie when a baby was born, because after all, those affected could afford to do it themselves. What a crock. Our best friends in the world are drowning in sewage and strangling with red tape, and it's all just punditry and rhetoric up here.
We seem to have turned this tragedy into an excuse to bitch about US policy. That's too easy a response, in my view, and not a useful one.
To my American friends out there, I want you to know that Canadians care. We really do. We're mad about all the inequities and ignorance that are causing so many to suffer, but honestly and truly, we're here to help. I truly hope we'll get the chance to show it.
Labels: America, hypocrisy, Katrina, neighbours
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