(That creek normally just comes under the road and through that pipe in our friends' yard)
As everyone knows, Hurricane Helene has brought a tremendous amount of suffering and tragedy to several states right now. We can't comprehend the scope because news crews can't get in to report on what's happening. Millions of people who are suffering the most don't have power or Internet or any way to access the outside world. There are people who will be going without food, who've lost their homes, who will lose their jobs, and entire towns have been washed away. It may be weeks before anyone has power. It could be years before towns are restored, if ever.
It breaks my heart to see my fellow Americans suffering so badly. Many were never warned to evacuate. They had no idea how bad it could get.
But one thing is clear; when disaster strikes YOU are the first responder for your family. Certainly government has a role to play in getting the power back on, streets cleared and repaired, and all those things our tax dollars pay for, but at the end of the day, making sure your family has what they need is up to you.
I have friends who live in beautiful Southwest Virginia, which has been hit terribly hard by Helene. No one in media really cares because it's a bunch of white rednecks who are Trumpies for the most part, or at least that's the perception. Hundreds are missing or dead, entire towns have been washed away and they are on their own for now. My friends have a propane generator, so they're okay for a few weeks, and they've been doing all they can to help others who need gasoline to fuel their generators, by making gas runs. The wait for gas is an hour long.
It's a fairly self-reliant part of the country, but most of them were never warned to evacuate because nobody anticipated that much rain. They got 17 inches of rain in six hours. The water came within 10 feet of my friends' house. (See photo above) Everything below them has been washed out. But once again, they are doing the best they can to help others, which is what we all should do during tragedies like this.
Most of the people in that area are not wealthy people and they have no flood insurance. They've lost everything. One of their neighbors watched his house get washed away and put a gun to his head. Tragic.
As I am watching the carnage and realizing how long it's going to take for government to fix anything, I'm reminded that as things get tougher, the more essential it will be to be handy and resourceful. Government is NOT coming to save you in 48 hours. Sadly, we have a lot of people today who don't know how to fix anything, or make do with anything. They're used to running to Walmart every time they need something. Clearly that's not always going to be an option.
Everyone needs to be able to own a gun and know how to use it. My friends in Southwest Virginia say there is no problem with looting, because everybody has a gun. It does you no good to have food, water, propane or gasoline if you're not prepared to defend it. Remember, when people get desperate there's no limit to what they'll do.
A great book on the subject was written by Marvin Olasky, called "The Politics of Disaster". In that book he talked about what happened during Katrina and the fact that most of the people who wound up in the New Orleans Superdome did so not because they had lost their houses, but because they didn't have enough food in the house to last two days. And we all know what happened in the aftermath of Katrina. It became the Lord of the Flies in a big hurry.
At the end of the day, we need to look out for our families and each other. Community is essential, but we also need to be shrewd and understand that we have far fewer people these days who are resourceful. Too many are depending on government to do everything for them and when they realize government isn't coming, they're expecting YOU to do everything for them.
This tragedy may be a preview of coming attractions in America. Resourcefulness is key.
Heidi Harris
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