In this month's column, Wayne Nash proposes a Jeffersonian approach to disaster response.
The best I can figure is a person's basic reaction to adversity is guided by their education, moral grounding and overall outlook on life. Some people depend upon themselves for success, some depend on the government. The choices, conscious and unconscious, that one makes in life have consequences. In the case of these two storms, the results are clear. For example: Louisiana, in general, and New Orleans, in particular, have been known for years to favor the type of political corruption usually reserved for Third World countries. This helps explain about a zillion Huey Long bridges all over the state.