Hurricane Ike effects
Any intelligent fool can make things bigger and more complex… It takes a touch of genius – and a lot of courage to move in the opposite direction.” …Albert Einstein
Hurricane Ike was a level two storm. It’s a good thing because driving around the day after, it looked like more like a level four. Some parts of Houston are still in shambles and will have to be demolished.
Having lived through my first hurricane, I see some lessons learned applicable to improving race relations.
The storm took out utilities and fuel forcing us to get back to basics. We got to know our neighbors, we became frugal, we conserved, and we stayed glued to our battery operated radio for news. We text messaged only critical updates to our friends and family knowing we were living on borrowed battery life.
The storm was democratic it did not single any one demographic group or neighborhood over others. The destruction was massive in all parts of the city. This helplessness brought people of all ethnic backgrounds together to share and to help each other. One Mexican food restaurant chain offered free meals to all.
Little by little we got our services back and we rejoiced to be able to fill up our vehicles without having to wait for a day in long lines. Your place in the fuel line was not dependant on race, size of your bank account or anything else. All it took was stepping up for your turn. In like fashion minorities need to acquire the education and competency to just step up to the premium jobs.
The only fearful time was during the storm not knowing if we were going to be hurt or even survive. After the storm we took inventory of our situation, identified what we needed and had to do and went about our business.
President Obama has initiated immigration reform. This is sure to bring peoples’ deep-seated fears like the swine flu just did. How about we keep it simple by taking inventory with the 2010 census. Work at creating a common sense solution that addresses the good of the country. Then just do it.
Now is the time to make things simple. As a life long fan of Einstein, he said it best.
“All things should be only as complicated as they need to be.”
