I stepped outside last night to the hum of distant generators working. Even farther away, somewhere, were the sounds of sirens, from some emergency that had broken out. There seems to have been many such emergencies in these last few days.
This storm was really something.
It is still a long road to recovery, and many people have lost so much from this storm. I wish them the best in their road to recovery.
That said, I will say this: it's really not good to tempt fate. Some people like to show off when they go on vacation, or even more if they own a home, where they can brag about having the ocean as their backyard. "I was literally five steps away from the beach!"
Perhaps we human beings have tricked ourselves into thinking that we can do anything. That we are perhaps immune from all things, because we have learned to overcome so many obstacles that have limited us in the past.
The truth of the matter, however, is that we do have limitations. Whenever we seem to forget that simple lesson, "Mother Nature" usually finds a way of reminding us.
To me, one of the most symbolic markings of this presumed arrogance of humanity would be beachside homes, resorts, and communities. These are people who feel that they should own the ocean, which really does not belong to anybody. They limit everyone else's access, in order to hold onto the belief that they are especially entitled to this plot of land and ocean. That it is something to be owned, to do with whatever the owner wants to do with it.
Yet, these same people, who tend to be well-to-do (waterfront property is supposed to be valuable, right?), and who most likely criticize the government relentlessly for trying to "socialize" America, will look to that same government in their hour of need, when yet another epic storm has done serious damage to their property and/or homes. They will take money from that same government that they always held such skepticism towards, when it is their time to be "bailed out". That way, things can go on as normal, and they can continue to hold onto their property, and prevent the rest of us commonfolk from access onto their precious piece of property.
But I say enough with such nonsense. People do not own such things in real life. It is an abstraction, and a particularly damaging one at that, when they implement it enough to make it seem like it's a reality. When the ocean, assisted by a storm, comes crashing in to sweep those illusions away, then we see these people crying on television.
Governor Christie said that those people that did not evacuate have to take responsiblity, that it's on them.
How about if wesay the same for those with beachfront property? It's a bad idea, and when the government comes in to restore such homes, it seems to me wasteful government spending, because it is inevitable that these homes are going to be threatened, and damaged, yet again, sooner or later in the future. It seems, these days, "sooner" rather than later.
So, if people are that insistent that they want such property, then so be it. But let it be understood that it should be at their own risk, and tha their should be no government bailouts for those who want to privatize what are natural wonders that really belong to us all.
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