Bringing
out the best!
"Pictures
of destroyed homes and flooded neighborhoods are heartbreaking, but the
inspiring images of neighbors helping neighbors and average citizens performing
heroic acts has shown Texas, and America, at its best.
The
eyes of the country have been on Texas as it deals with the devastating effects
of Hurricane Harvey.
Along
with coverage of the storm, it’s the efforts of citizen volunteers that are
becoming a major focus of the story.
As William
Long, head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, stressed in
interviews before the storm hit, when it comes to most disasters, government
alone can’t save the day, citizens need to be ready to save neighbors in harm’s
way, and, quote,
“People need to be the help before the help arrives.”
And
that is exactly what we’ve seen in Texas.
There
is no telling how many lives have been saved because countless individuals took
it upon themselves to wade through streets searching for family, friends, and
strangers trapped by rising flood waters, using their personal boats, kayaks,
and jet skis to reach people rescue workers could not, and opening up their
homes to those who had nowhere to go.
Remarkably,
much of the major news media almost seems shocked by all the good Samaritan
stories coming out of Houston and other communities in southeast Texas rocked
by the storm.
Perhaps
that’s because they’ve grown so accustomed to giving wall-to-wall coverage to
fringe causes and groups that are more interested in dividing America than
making it better.
Frankly,
it’s increasingly hard to follow the news without starting to feel as though a
protest or march or made-for-TV riot is around every corner.
But
as Texans have shown us, civil society, the little platoons that philosopher
Edmund Burke referred to, while missing from most headlines and cable news, is
still there.
As
a native of the Lone Star State, I’m not surprised by the good we’ve seen.
Texas got its very name from the Native American word Tejas, which means
friendship and ally. And it’s that sentiment that has been on full display in
the aftermath of Harvey.
My
guess is many of you aren’t surprised either—because as heroic and inspiring as
many acts we’ve seen on our television screens and social media feeds have
been, this is what you would do if faced with the same circumstance.
It’s
what most of the folks across the street from you would do, and it’s what most
of the people in the next town or city of your state would do.
What
we’ve witnessed in Texas is the best of America. People from different cultural
and economic and racial backgrounds coming together to demonstrate that all
lives matter and showing through actions, not protests, what it looks like to
love thy neighbor."
Con amor,
Vero
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