I'm Back

I took off the month of August as I planned and then ended up taking off the month of September too.

I plead shock. The events surrounding Katrina were very surprising and unexpected. People outside of Washington tend not to appreciate what it means to do something like creating a new bureaucracy like Homeland Security out of many others--it simply cannot work. Just to put two agencies together would take a few years of careful and gradual work (there are many reasons for this that have to do with peculiarities of the Federal bureaucracy that I don't want to get into at this time).

The lesson of Katrina is that we are largely on our own. Large federal bureaucracies simply don't care about any of us and aren't equipped to "care". They lumber on and often make matters worse or better depending on the phase of the Moon. The notion that we will be taken care of by a caring government really doesn't hold up unless we are, for whatever reason, in an economical and political position of power. Sadly state and local bureaucracies are often as bad or worse, though in different ways peculiar to local politics--though in agencies closer to home there is a better chance of knowing someone who knows someone, in short they are a little more flexible. But something infects all of them--this notion that there are rules and regulations first and people second. It seems insitutions in our society want to turn off our hearts and replace it with "systems" thinking. It doesn't work. Only people with open hearts can help anyone. People who give with closed hearts always do more harm than good. With that in mind, one of the saddest aspect of the whole Katrina debacle was that members of local, state and federal governments all tried to discourage individuals or community leaders from stepping in with their open hearts and desire to help. To the bureaucracies of 'help" such action is seen as nearly criminal. We must close our hearts, grit our teeth and administer pain others. The fact the bureaucracies do some good is entirely due to the few (and there are always the few in any organization, even places like Guantanomo).

Clearly we have a problem with our culture. In fact, as time passes I'm convinced that most Americans seem largely content with gradually morphing out of the whole enterprise of civilization. While there are negative aspects to civilization, within each one there are seeds that lead to beauty, truth, spirituality and conviviality. We should not turn our backs on what we have inherited simply for the pleasure of one more fulfilled fantasy, one more trip, one more kick, one larger house or SUV.

Somehow we need to see what is easily the truth: such pleasures are temporary and ultimately not satisfying--as a pragmatic matter, our greatest happiness comes from being here in the moment, smiling at our friends, and working for the sake of others.