The Plain Truth

[SteveH]

I didn't write this, but thought VERY appropriate.

Subject: The Plain Truth


Back in the 70's, my wife, baby daughter, and I lived in Goodna, Queensland, a suburb of Brisbane. We were young and inexperienced and like most couples our age lived pretty much hand to mouth. It was a struggle to make ends meet. Any savings we had went as a down payment on the home we were buying. Once a week my wife went shopping and bought the food and supplies we would need the following week.


*Like the Southeastern United States, the area we lived in was subtropical and prone to cyclones (same as hurricanes). One day a cyclone approached our area. It wasn't a big one as cyclones go, so we weren't too concerned. We figured 6-12 hours of high winds and all would be back to normal. Except things didn't go exactly according to plans. The cyclone moved in over top of us and hit up against another pressure front and stopped dead. And there it sat for two days. Not too much wind but oh did it rain. An inch an hour for 48 hours. That's right - we got nearly four feet of rain.


*Now Brisbane is built on the Brisbane River, not an impressive river as rivers go - only a few feet deep and a hundred feet wide in the western suburbs where we lived. At least during normal times. Four feet of water over several hundred square miles is one hell of a lot of water. Trust me on that one - I've seen it. And all of that water all had to get to the sea via the Brisbane River. During the night, our little Brisbane River rose and rose. The police were magnificent. They woke people up and evacuated thousands of homes during that long night. Only two people drowned in our area - residents of a mobile home park whose trailer was swept away. The police commandeered trucks and backed them up to the local grocery store and loaded all the food and necessities, drove them to high ground and parked them.


*By mid morning the river was 60 feet deep and three miles wide. We lived on a hill so we weren't submerged. When you walked over the crest of the hill and looked down into the valley where there was once a highway, railroad line, shopping centers, and thousands of homes you were stunned into silence. All you could see was water everywhere. No electric poles, no roof tops, nothing. Everything was under water.


*We took stock of our situation - it wasn't good. The flood came on our weekly shopping day so the house contained very little food. We had some candles and a flashlight. Nothing else. There was no electricity or water. Fortunately it was warm weather.


*We were in stunned disbelief. So were our neighbors. However, we decided we had better quickly organize ourselves. We knew we were going to be isolated and without water or power for some time. We started collecting all the rain water we could. Without it we were screwed. We dismantled and reassembled a non-mortared barbecue under our carport. We started collecting all the firewood we could find. We assessed the food situation. Some people had full freezers. We separated what we could eat over the next several days and dug pits and buried the rest. Everyone shared what they had without a single word of what came from whom.


*Needless to say we survived - and in good shape. The R.A.A.F flew some food supplies in (especially fresh bread that the local prison was baking and fresh, unpasteurized milk from local farmers.) by helicopter. In fact I look back on those days with some fondness. Our carport became the hub of the neighborhood. At night we would just sit around the fire and talk.


*The thousands of people who were displaced didn't go to refugee camps. They went into the homes of those not flooded - sometimes friends or relatives, often strangers. Nobody forced you to take in another family, everyone just did it.


*Hundreds of millions of dollars was raised throughout Australia. The relief agencies didn't screw around with the money either. As soon as the water receded in a weeks time, they set up centers in every hamlet. Anyone who was submerged was given an initial $4,000 in CASH to tide them through. More came later. Was there some abuse? A few instances but not many and the there was follow-up to deal with that. Was there any looting? Virtually none.


*What does this have to do with New Orleans? Plenty.


*Why didn't the people in the Superdome make any effort to organize themselves? Why didn't groups of men patrol the restrooms to prevent rapes?


*We have gone a long way in the past 40 years to creating a dysfunctional society where self reliance, pride in one's self, and a sense of right and wrong are no longer esteemed or even valued.


*We have allowed our government and media to say to people that you are not at fault for what you do. You are victims… little children who can't look after yourselves.


*We have told our minorities that everything that goes wrong is the result of racism. That you cannot succeed in a racist society.


*We have told the dysfunctional that we will look after you no matter how egregiously you act.


*We have excused crime saying that poverty creates crime, when we all instinctively know that it is the crime that creates poverty.


*We have told young women that it okay to have babies without fathers. There is no stigma attached - in fact if you have a baby we will shower you with money and benefits so you can move out of your parent's house and have even more babies. Even if this guarantees your babies will be raised in poverty.


*We have told young men that it is okay to father as many children as you can. The government will assume the father's traditional role and look after the mother and babies.


*And most importantly, we have called morals old fashioned and judgmental. What right does society have to say that something is right or wrong?


*And what have we gotten for this? (Not to mention the $1 trillion we have spent on the poor!) Citizens who, at the first sign of trouble, stand around bewildered. You see it on the news. Faces screaming, "Help me!" "Tell me what to do!"


*God help us. We're reaping what we sowed.

[TonyCooper]

Read Tribes!

[rd]

Quite a box o' Screedies you got on that link...

rd

[madjack]

Read Tribes!

...excellent essay.........................

[Chris C]

I can't possibly tell you how very much I agree. Thank you for taking the time to say it all....................and say it like it is.

[Boodro]

AMEN Brother !

[Cutterpup]

Okay now that quite a few of us agree that

1. We have a problem in this country

2. What should we do with it. Put them all into one small city and let them fend for themselves?

3. Create another country?

Its easy to point fingers and lay blame but Lets try to come up with a solution for welfare, workfare, handouts whatever you want to call it. After all some of them can work the "system" for many years and that takes a level of intelligence that some wall street tycoons don't have. And We have some very good minds right here who know we could come up with a working solution?



Dan

[Nitetimes]

Read Tribes!

All I can say is WOW

Excellent reading, very well put.

[Chris C]

Dan,

You are absolutely correct.......................many people who are sucking our system dry have excellent minds. I talked with a man at the gas station today and he asked me why in the world he should get a job when our Government will support him and his family. By the way, I was filling my old 1996 Honda (given to me as a Birthday gift) and he was filling a 2004 Jaguar which still had the used dealer's tag in the window! He started explaining all the ways to "gits whats commin t'me" and I was totally shocked. Some of his schemes were pretty well thought out..............but then he admitted "we is third-generation welfare peoples". They don't want to work. They don't want a solution. They already have one.............you and me, working our butts off to make a living and paying taxes.

[Boodro]

I don't believe in " pointing fingers" because when you point a finger , there are 3 fingers pointing back at yourself. Like Cutterpup said though , " WE" need to do something about it. The catch is "we" include the ones that create the problem. After all the Government for the people ,of the people,by the people are what this country started with . Unfortunatly it is not the same as it was intended to be , because "we " have not controlled the politicians , they control us. just my thoughts.

[pkrfanatic]

The problem is only going to get worse as we send all our good paying jobs out of the country so we can save a buck. Its pretty sad when the majority of available jobs in this country pay below poverty level, and its easier to raise a family on the government assistance. Getting a good education doesnt ensure anything anymore either, as the number of qualified people outgrow the good jobs. One member pointed out how tough it would have been for him to evacuate such a disaster when he was raising a family on wally world wages. True, many people do take advantage of the system, but many have no choice but to use the system. We as a society have created a beast and as pointed out We're reaping what we sowed. Its too bad when it takes catastrophes such as Katrina for us to open our eyes, but how quickly we forget. Cutterpup and Boodro both make a good point that pointing fingers is not the solution, and maybe just maybe we need to take a look at ourselves.

[ceebe]

I just did just that! I took a good look at myself and saw a person who went to school, on my own nickle, and learned a valuable trade.I went to school full time and worked full time. I didn't have the government teach me anything.
During the course of a 25 year career so far, I have had floods wreck the airport where i worked, Changes in the airline industry brought by outsourcing, and the serious degradation of aviation in general after 9/11.
Never once have i just stood there, knowing disaster was on the way, waiting passivly for the government to save my sorry butt, let alone demand it as my 'right' !
Sorry, but that soapbox just jumped under me and i couldn,t dodge it

[pkrfanatic]

Congratulations! 25 years ago we were still creating jobs in this country not giving(outsourcing) them away. Fortunately i was lucky enough to have been able to do the same, but times are a changing and one would have to be blind not to see. What the heck though lets just keep patting ourselves on the back and pointing fingers. We definitely have those 2 things mastered.

[ceebe]

Damn Right I will!

[Arne]

Way back when, the federal gov't's only function was to protect the country against attack. So, we had no federal income tax till the 1930's.

Then individuals started turning over power to towns and cities. In return, they got 'benefits', like better schools and roads. Then, the towns went to the states for help, and relinquished some of their autonomy in due course.

So, the states starting giving the towns benefits (like support for projects and schools)...... so the states went to the federal government for help and gave up some state's rights.

Everyone in the food chain gave up priviledge's and rights to get benefits (money). Now, everyone thinks federal government money is free. And we now have an income tax, a phone tax, a gas tax, a personal property tax.

Oh, welfare. I believe its original intent was to supply support to familes whose breadwinner, usually male, was killed or disabled and unable to provide for his family. It has morphed into what we have now. Unwed mothers who stand in line to get 'free' money.

But, don't forget pork barrel projects at the federal level like roads that go no where and dams that plug up rivers and don't accomplish anything. As long as the pork is coming our way, it is great.... but not when the other guy is getting it.

Then of course, we have farm subsidies that were meant to keep small farmers above water, but now go to thousand acre farms that are legally sub-divided amongst the owner, his children, his workers.... to fit the 160 acre limitation to get the grants......

So, we all stand in line for the 'free' money when we can. And we have given away the ability to stand on our own 2 feet.

I'm sure you've all heard the line: "It won't cost the town much, 65% of the money will come from the federal government"..... and we felt better.