The reason no one cares in New Orleans...

Maybe the reason no one cares in New Orleans is because no one has labeled a "them" to blame it on? 9/11 had Al Quada. Iraq was supposedly linked to Al Quada, and American citizens rallied around that. Vietnam had the Gulf of Tonkin. I don't know if the country had a substantial outpouring over the San Francisco quake 100 years ago. Maybe the only way you can get the general populace to care is if someone or something is out there to point a finger at. Then all of a sudden there is a threat, and we all rally around the flag. I would think that's what happened, and that's how William Randolph Hurst moved the country into the Spanish American War. No one in the U.S. was really interested in fighting in WWII until we were attacked, and then there was a bad guy.

I have a feeling that the death toll in New Orleans is going to surpass Pearl Harbor and 9/11 combined, and no one will care half as much. Do you know why, because there is no them to blame? The government at all levels messed this up so bad, but the U.S. government is not a them, most Americans look at government officials as Americans. Americans are never a them, so who is there to rally against?

Agree or disagree? I would like some feedback on this, because I see this in general in human behavior. Us vs. them, and without a them no one really feels there is an us.

 

I'll agree with you on that diogenes. There is no them to blame it on and that's why people don't care. Someone tries to find a "them" but nobody wants to listen because every explanation just smacks of conspiracy. So who do you propose is responsible? And none of this FEMA director BS, who really fucked that shit up, and why is the media failing to label a "them" on this issue? They've put the finger on people before over smaller shit.

 

Who would be the "them" on this issue. Democrats are saying it's the federal government (the republicans caused it). And republicans are saying that it's the local governments fault (it's the democrats that caused it). Sounds pretty much like business as usual to me. I think that the people of New Orleans, and the United States as a whole, place way to much trust in elected officials. Demand some accountability. Know where your money is going. The state of Alaska received about a billion dollars in pork out of this years transportation bill. $254,000,000 of that is going to build a bridge that serves a community of about 500. If the people had demanded accountability, i.e. voted and actually done some research, then this wouldn't have happened. So who's the them on this issue, the government and the lazy assed American people who let the government do whatever the hell they want with tax money. If this whole deal you're predicting goes down smurf, I won't feel bad for the United States. You know why, because we were too damn lazy too vote, and maybe actually do something to stop it. Maybe if the country was actually watching what the government was doing we wouldn't spend a quarter billion dollars on a community of 500 and skimp on the levees that keep millions from being flooded out of their homes. The average american is a dumb-ass, and I think that's who the "them" is this time. That's why no one is talking about it, because they can't look themselves in the face and say that they fucked up.

 

Nicely said, we get what we deserve. We let ourselves get stupid, but the elite exploited that and got themselves super-status. Bravo to those guys. Sorry it has to happen, people, but here it comes.

 

More accurately, in this democracy we live in, we get what our stupid neighbor deserves. The stupid asshole majority.

 

Smurf, have you read Plato's "Republic"? I think it has some stuff you might really find interesting. I keep throwing philosophy references at you, you seem like you might actually read them. Anyone else who's interested and hasn't read Plato's "Republic" should check it out, along with "the Alegory of the Cave." Not sure if I spelled that right.