Of Hurricanes and Human Life

October 10, 2024

By Jim Towey

Major hurricane. Death toll in the hundreds. Devastating floods. And another major storm bearing down in its wake.   

All of this was on my mind yesterday when I visited with former U.S. President George W. Bush in his office in Dallas. But I wasn’t thinking of Hurricanes Helene or, now, with what Milton might do. I was thinking back to 2005 and Hurricane Katrina.

I worked at the White House when Katrina flooded New Orleans and neighboring communities. President Bush cut short his vacation in Texas and returned to the West Wing to manage the nation’s recovery efforts, after first seeing the storm’s damage from an Air Force One flyover.

Double standard

For this decision, he was lambasted by the mainstream media and portrayed as uncaring. We all knew better, and besides, he was not going to get a fair shake from the mainstream media who opposed his re-election and wanted to weaken his second term. That leftist bias persists, by the way. Even if one can explain away the apparent prejudice  of the network TV moderators during the Trump-Harris and Vance-Walz debates, it is hard to ignore the pass President Biden has received from the legacy media for his hands-off approach to post-Helene affairs.  

Bush wasn’t as fortunate. The networks amplified stories of New Orleans residents who raged against him – some of these stories that grabbed headlines turned out to be exaggerated or entirely fabricated. It was easier to blame the president than the outmatched governor of Louisiana, Kathleen Blanco, and corrupt mayor of New Orleans, Ray Nagin (who years later was sentenced to ten years in prison for various crimes while in office, some of which involved Katrina relief money).

The president arrived in Washington and immediately convened an emergency Cabinet meeting. From my perch as a backbencher, seated with the rest of Bush’s senior staff, I heard numerous, detailed reports of Blanco’s and Nagin’s fumbling efforts. I subsequently went with President Bush to New Orleans on his second visit to the area, weeks after Katrina hit, as he tried to bring harmony to federal, state and local efforts. He did his job and pocketed the criticism. Nonetheless, the coordinated campaign by The New York Times, Washington Post, and the Sunday morning network shows to malign his reputation and weaken him, succeeded. His job approval ratings never recovered.

Times change

But in his post-presidency, they have. President Bush now commands respect and affection from a clear majority of Americans, including 53% of Democrats. The older he gets, the more endearing he becomes. History will look favorably on his presidency.

During our 40 minute visit Tuesday, I grabbed the chance to tell the 78-year-old former president that Mary and I love him and Laura, and always will. I thanked him for what he taught me. He knew he made some mistakes during his time in office but his administration’s response to Katrina wasn’t one of them. Read the chapter in his memoir, Decision Points, to get the facts the media elites withheld.

The water marks I saw on the tour that stained each and every building in New Orleans are now appearing in North Carolina, Tennessee, and elsewhere as the floodwaters recede. The recovery effort will take many years. But what will last forever are the many memories of people who risked their lives rescuing neighbors, and even strangers. Why the daring helicopter and boat rescues? What motivated these people to go to such heroic lengths, endangering their own lives, never hesitating?

Human life, human value

The answer is simple: the value of human life! A year ago, we saw many Israelis dare to defy Hamas’ barbarism by shielding compatriots, sometimes sharing in their tragic fate. They were defending life, innocent life. The Judeo-Christian ethic to do unto others what you would have them do unto you bound them in solidarity with those facing death. They knew that to defend life was to proclaim the fundamental goodness of life.

Perhaps you saw the recent story of the “suicide pod” in Switzerland that facilitated the instant death of a 64-year-old American.  The contrast of this trivialization of life with the heroes in Israel and Appalachia, speaks for itself. The assisted-suicide floodwaters are rising across Canada. The number of Canadians who have taken their own lives with the help of government, has exploded from about 1,000 in 2016 to over 13,000 in 2022. Isn’t government supposed to preserve life? Isn’t that why we send in helicopters, boats and emergency food and medicine?

Katrina, Helene, and the heroes who save their victims teach us that life is precious. Those who suffer deserve our accompaniment and help when they are brought low by life, whether by storm or sickness.  

Humans are wired for life – and for each other.          

(The views expressed herein are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Aging with Dignity and/or its Board of Directors)