The Lens:
What disaster “territory” do you live in? As a San Franciscan, I live in earthquake territory. As such, I am prepared for a sizable quake – somewhat. Being a native in this city, you’d think I’d have a better answer than that. While I am not as prepared as I should be, we have flashlights, a battery-operated phone charger. I also make sure we have water and canned food on hand should a quake cut off utilities and supplies.
What I am not prepared for is a devastating winter storm. Why should I be? When we hit a cold snap, it can get down into the 40s. Whew. Chilly.
In the last week or so, there have been millions of people who faced a very ugly situation – prolonged freezing temperatures and an infrastructure that could not handle it. They didn’t just lose electricity (meaning no heat), they also lost access to water. Without heat to keep pipes warm, many burst.
Compounding the problem, store shelves were emptied. Food became scarce. Texas was particularly hard hit.
While Texas has itself partly to blame (e.g., their lack of regulation of their utilities, wanting not to be beholden to federal mandates), I am particularly sympathetic because your average citizen had little reason to suspect this kind of thing could happen to them. I understand the lack of preparedness.
But, it did happen. I have thought about the horror of it all. Suppose that happened here. How would we have survived? As I said, I have a haphazard earthquake supply. Some of that would carry us through. What we would sorely lack is heat.
We have gas appliances, but the furnace needs electricity for the forced air. We do have a working fireplace. However, with our temperate climate, there is no need for it except for maybe ambiance. We have an old “3-hour” log that just sits in there. We have no stockpile of wood. Three hours isn’t much when you consider freezing for days.
Texans are big on standing on their own two feet (part of the reason they are in this mess, but I digress). A mayor of one Texas city went on a Twitter tirade, lambasting his constituents for expecting government help. If you missed it, it was brutal. He called them lazy.
He told them in no uncertain terms they were owed nothing (he wrote “nothing” in caps). He went on to tell them if they didn’t have water “deal with it.” He continued they needed to “think outside the box to survive.”
One of his most unabashed statements: “Only the strong will survive and the weak will parish (sic).” He left them with a parting shot: “Get off your ass and take care of your own family.”
Wow.
He has since resigned.
I go back to my point that these people don’t live in Canada. They had no reasonable expectation they would be hit with a days-long arctic freeze. When was the last time you prepared for an event that wasn’t supposed to happen?
Yes, I believe we should all take care of ourselves. But there are times when it is simply not possible to do that. In this case, I am not sure how you can generate heat without some sort of generation source and a place for it to combust. I am not sure how you make water, either.
We seem to be working our way farther and farther away from compassion. The harshness of this mayor’s attitude was reminiscent of “A Christmas Carol,” leaving the feeling that our humanity is slipping away.
The Refraction:
When I think of standing on one’s own feet, the James McMurtry song “Levelland” pops into my mind:
“Granddad grew the dry land wheat
Stood on his own two feet
His mind got incomplete
And they put in the home”
My paternal grandmother lived to 98 years old. She lived out her dying days in a “home.” It was a long journey to get her to a place where one could live with some sort of dignity.
My mother was dead set against going to a “home.” I’m guessing watching what my grandmother went through had a part in forming my mother’s opinion on the subject She was also fiercely independent. She did not like being taken care of. (My grandmother was fiercely independent, too, but was more accepting of her need for care to survive.)
Mom had several surgeries in her final years. My sisters and I would play tag team helping her out during her recoveries. She would complain bitterly. “This is not the way it should be. Mothers should be taking care of the children, not the other way around.” She abhorred it, but she couldn’t get by without our help.
I think about what it takes to stand on your own two feet today. It really comes down to one thing: money. There is simply no way to survive in our current society without it.
There was a time in history where trading provided a very real means of procuring necessities. I’ll trade you a sack of potatoes for a basket of eggs. Those days are long gone. Can you even imagine going into a grocery story and offer some home-grown lemons for some apples?
Not only had you better have a way to make immediate payment, you had better have the full amount. When I was kid, probably 4th grade or so, my sisters and I wanted to buy our parents a radio for their anniversary. We had $11. We walked to the local TV and Radio store. We told the owner what we were looking for and what we had. The cheapest radio he had was $12 without tax.
He sold us that radio for $11 out the door. Could you imagine such a thing happening at a major retailer? Just for fun, go into any large store and try to pay for something being a penny short and see what happens. You may end up walking out the door with the item, but it won’t be without a bit of a to-do.
We all know how to get that money – get a job. Sounds easy enough, right? For many of us, it is. We can find a job that makes us enough to pay for housing, food, clothes, transportation, etc., along with some extras. Even if we would like to make more to buy more luxuries or more luxurious items, we make enough to survive and then some.
For others for a wide range of reasons, it isn’t so easy. We have some safety nets but most still involve money. There are food stamps one can use buy groceries that the store redeems for cash. There are housing vouchers a landlord redeems for cash.
Taking this assistance comes with its own price. For one thing, society does not look kindly on people who take these “handouts.” Have you ever been behind someone using food stamps? I will admit I have and found it hideously trying waiting for the person to get checked out.
In my impatience, I failed to have that compassion I say we are losing. It can’t be fun to have to have every item you are buying completely scrutinized. Yes, you may think, nothing comes free and that is the price you pay. That still doesn’t make it pleasant.
I believe the far majority of people want to stand on their own two feet. When they can’t, like my mom, they have to swallow their pride hard to accept help.
I think back to these Texans. I am guessing most of them never thought they would ever be in a position to need someone, whether a neighbor or the government, to give them such basics as food, water, and shelter. But it happened.
It is easy to look at people who take a handout and pass judgement on them. If they just did this or that, they should be able to take care of themselves. Sometimes, that is true. Many times, it is not.
My mom needing help after her surgeries is no different than the people in Texas needing help to survive the storm, or than people needing help who can’t find sufficient employment to meet their needs. Needing help is needing help. There should be no shame in that.
Understanding that might be one step in the direction of reclaiming our humanity.
PS – I am thinking of a little stash of wood for my yard.