Bill Whittle, in an oft-recently-linked essay, lays out that it’s a Pink Tribe vs. Gray Tribe thing these days:
My Tribe consists of people who know that sometimes bad things happen, and that these are an opportunity to show ourselves what we are made of. My people go into burning buildings. My Tribe consists of organizers and self-starters, proud and self-reliant people who do not need to be told what to do in a crisis. My Tribe is not fearless; they are something better. They are courageous. My Tribe is honorable, and decent, and kind, and inventive. My Tribe knows how to give orders, and how to follow them. My Tribe knows enough about how the world works to figure out ways to boil water, ration food, repair structures, build and maintain makeshift latrines, and care for the wounded and the dead with respect and compassion.
There are some things my Tribe is not good at at all. My Tribe doesn’t make excuses. My Tribe will analyze failure and assign blame, but that is to make sure that we do better next time, and we never, ever waste valuable energy and time doing so while people are still in danger. My Tribe says, and in their heart completely believes that it’s the other guy that’s the hero. My Tribe does not believe that a single Man can cause, prevent or steer Hurricanes, and my Tribe does not and has never made someone else responsible for their own safety, and that of their loved ones.
Go ye and read the whole thing, for it is good.
I, too, share some of Bill’s rage. It seems as if there is a group of people in this country so adamantly secure in their worldview, so unwilling to admit any evidence to the contrary, that they are willing to get us all killed if only to prove themselves right. I see it in “9/11+4 years” reactions and I see it in the blame games surrounding Hurricane Katrina. Why won’t anyone in power learn the obvious lessons in these situations?
Me? I’m going to invest in duct tape stocks.
