I don't think most presidential candidates give much thought to the times when they will be called on to be the consoler in chief in the aftermath of tragedy. I don't think Georg W. Bush gave it much thought in the midst of the Katrina tragedy. A flyover at 5,000 feet when people below are dying registers on the callousness scale, not the consolation scale.
I think Obama's statement that better days are coming echoes expressions of hope and consolation with deep roots in African American culture. I can imagine black elders and clergymen saying those exact words in the aftermath of some crime against their humanity, some new reminder they didn't count and wouldn't be allowed to count. Better days didn't come quickly or easily, but they did come. The words of those elders and preachers turned out to be true. I trust that Obama's words will turn out to be true also.
Your second graph first: well stated and I have to admit I hadn't thought of it in that light but it certainly makes sense. I hope you and the president are right and that better days are indeed coming but I don't know of a time in my long life when I've felt less hopeful.
As for GWB and Katrina. I find myself in the unusual position of defending his flyover. That was a massive tragedy over a very large area. Strategically, I'm not sure he could have done anything else at the time and I believe he went back to the area and did visit with people. When there's such a major rescue operation as that was, the presence of a president can be a huge distraction and interfere with the effort. With a president comes press, secret service and any number of other people in a large entourage who really just get in the way. This by no means he felt, or is capable of feeling, any compassion but I do think it was the right call at that time.
The following is from a Web page on the aftermath of Hurricane Betsey, nearly 47 years ago.
"On September 10, 1965, the day after Hurricane Betsy plowed through southeastern Louisiana, President Lyndon Johnson flew to New Orleans. He went to the people, to shelters where evacuees were gathered, to neighborhoods all over the city. There was no electricity and, so that people could see and hear him at one shelter, he took a flashlight, shined it into his face and said into a megaphone, 'My name is Lyndon Baines Johnson. I am your president. I am here to make sure you have the help you need.'
"And that's exactly what he did. He cut through bureaucratic red tape and, before he'd even left the city that day, he saw to it that the wheels were set in motion for the city's recovery.
"Those who remember Betsy will always be grateful to President Johnson for his decisive leadership, his critically needed comfort and his determination to bring timely help to the area, and to immediately start rescuing, recovering and rebuilding. . ."
I remember that trip LBJ made to Louisiana. There was a clip on the evening news of him holding that flashlight on his face and telling people in shock their president was there. He wanted them to know they weren't alone and wouldn't be forgotten or left to struggle on their own. I think Johnson's presence and reassurance gave much needed comfort and courage to people, many of them poor, who were hurting and bewildered.
LBJ had some rough edges, but he was deeply compassionate, especially when it came to have nots, whether they were the children of Texas sharecroppers in Depression days, when he was a schoolteacher working for meager pay himself, or victims of a hurricane when he was president.
There's a transcript of Johnson's remarks and conversations with several Louisianians here. It's well worth a read.
I understand presidents can't travel light and could get in the way. Still, I think LBJ got it right and did so on instinct, on what he felt a president should do, whereas GWB didn't show up until after it became clear his lack of an early personal response was becoming a PR disaster.
Wow, thanks for this. I remember that time as well and you raise a very valid comparison. While I think presidents probably travel with a much larger entourage today than they did back in 1965, making the job of the first responders even more difficult, I will happily withdraw my defense of Dubya. "GWB didn't show up until after it became clear his lack of an early personal response was becoming a PR disaster." True.
I think Obama’s point was that the “brighter future” will come with the generations that have yet to come into their own… and I think that it IS something to be optimistic about.
The reaction of increased gun sales has been widely reported… and I have to say … as I do when these things happen… that the idea that more guns will make people safer is nonsense. Statistically, logistically, and as a matter of common sense, it is nonsense.
The perpetrator’s cultural psychosis that anything can be solved with a gun is actually the root cause of the tragedy. Guns are never the solution. They are never your friend. They are just death in waiting.
Couldn't agree more about this insanity over guns. The NRA has spent millions of dollars in their propaganda war and we keep seeing the tragic results but doing nothing about it. Until our Congressional leaders develop a spine, I'm afraid it will just continue. That this obviously very sick man could even buy these kinds of weapons is bad enough, but to be able to purchase all that ammo online really is insanity.
While republicans say,
ReplyDelete"Out of this darkness, more control of the people and higher profits are gonna come."
That is for sure. :(
DeleteI'll believe it when I see it.
ReplyDeleteYou sound about as optimistic as I feel, Mr. C. :(
DeleteI don't think most presidential candidates give much thought to the times when they will be called on to be the consoler in chief in the aftermath of tragedy. I don't think Georg W. Bush gave it much thought in the midst of the Katrina tragedy. A flyover at 5,000 feet when people below are dying registers on the callousness scale, not the consolation scale.
ReplyDeleteI think Obama's statement that better days are coming echoes expressions of hope and consolation with deep roots in African American culture. I can imagine black elders and clergymen saying those exact words in the aftermath of some crime against their humanity, some new reminder they didn't count and wouldn't be allowed to count. Better days didn't come quickly or easily, but they did come. The words of those elders and preachers turned out to be true. I trust that Obama's words will turn out to be true also.
Your second graph first: well stated and I have to admit I hadn't thought of it in that light but it certainly makes sense. I hope you and the president are right and that better days are indeed coming but I don't know of a time in my long life when I've felt less hopeful.
DeleteAs for GWB and Katrina. I find myself in the unusual position of defending his flyover. That was a massive tragedy over a very large area. Strategically, I'm not sure he could have done anything else at the time and I believe he went back to the area and did visit with people. When there's such a major rescue operation as that was, the presence of a president can be a huge distraction and interfere with the effort. With a president comes press, secret service and any number of other people in a large entourage who really just get in the way. This by no means he felt, or is capable of feeling, any compassion but I do think it was the right call at that time.
The following is from a Web page on the aftermath of Hurricane Betsey, nearly 47 years ago.
Delete"On September 10, 1965, the day after Hurricane Betsy plowed through southeastern Louisiana, President Lyndon Johnson flew to New Orleans. He went to the people, to shelters where evacuees were gathered, to neighborhoods all over the city. There was no electricity and, so that people could see and hear him at one shelter, he took a flashlight, shined it into his face and said into a megaphone, 'My name is Lyndon Baines Johnson. I am your president. I am here to make sure you have the help you need.'
"And that's exactly what he did. He cut through bureaucratic red tape and, before he'd even left the city that day, he saw to it that the wheels were set in motion for the city's recovery.
"Those who remember Betsy will always be grateful to President Johnson for his decisive leadership, his critically needed comfort and his determination to bring timely help to the area, and to immediately start rescuing, recovering and rebuilding. . ."
I remember that trip LBJ made to Louisiana. There was a clip on the evening news of him holding that flashlight on his face and telling people in shock their president was there. He wanted them to know they weren't alone and wouldn't be forgotten or left to struggle on their own. I think Johnson's presence and reassurance gave much needed comfort and courage to people, many of them poor, who were hurting and bewildered.
LBJ had some rough edges, but he was deeply compassionate, especially when it came to have nots, whether they were the children of Texas sharecroppers in Depression days, when he was a schoolteacher working for meager pay himself, or victims of a hurricane when he was president.
There's a transcript of Johnson's remarks and conversations with several Louisianians here. It's well worth a read.
I understand presidents can't travel light and could get in the way. Still, I think LBJ got it right and did so on instinct, on what he felt a president should do, whereas GWB didn't show up until after it became clear his lack of an early personal response was becoming a PR disaster.
Wow, thanks for this. I remember that time as well and you raise a very valid comparison. While I think presidents probably travel with a much larger entourage today than they did back in 1965, making the job of the first responders even more difficult, I will happily withdraw my defense of Dubya. "GWB didn't show up until after it became clear his lack of an early personal response was becoming a PR disaster." True.
DeleteI think Obama’s point was that the “brighter future” will come with the generations that have yet to come into their own… and I think that it IS something to be optimistic about.
ReplyDeleteThe reaction of increased gun sales has been widely reported… and I have to say … as I do when these things happen… that the idea that more guns will make people safer is nonsense. Statistically, logistically, and as a matter of common sense, it is nonsense.
The perpetrator’s cultural psychosis that anything can be solved with a gun is actually the root cause of the tragedy.
Guns are never the solution. They are never your friend. They are just death in waiting.
Couldn't agree more about this insanity over guns. The NRA has spent millions of dollars in their propaganda war and we keep seeing the tragic results but doing nothing about it. Until our Congressional leaders develop a spine, I'm afraid it will just continue. That this obviously very sick man could even buy these kinds of weapons is bad enough, but to be able to purchase all that ammo online really is insanity.
Delete