Letters: Oct. 3, 2005

Katrina's Legacy

In response to our Special Report on the Hurricane Katrina disaster, TIME heard from New Orleans residents who escaped the flood but lost their homes--though not their hope. Less optimistic were the many readers who expressed anger at the government's failure to prepare for a long-expected calamity

"The incompetent federal response to Katrina and the President's callousness made me ashamed to be an American." KEVIN MILLER Saline, Mich.

New Orleans holds a special place in my heart, so I greatly anticipated the issue of TIME that would come out following Hurricane Katrina. You did not let me down [Sept. 12]. From Nancy Gibbs' poetic story to the astounding photographs, TIME once again took me to the scene and helped me understand the enormity of the storm's destruction. LAURA TAYLOR Atlanta

There are multiple lessons to be learned from the disaster of Katrina and the unnecessary loss of so many lives. Besides the government's obvious failure to respond rapidly and the further evidence of the Bush Administration's incompetence, the catastrophe demonstrates the folly of lower taxes and less government. We are in desperate need of policies that address the issues of poverty, deteriorating infrastructure and environmental degradation. Unless U.S. leaders devise a dramatic new approach for coping with hurricane disasters, we are destined to be devastated by many more Katrinas. We can only hope that this was the ultimate wake-up call. MICHAEL F. HAMANT Tucson, Ariz.

I am a native New Orleanian who evacuated the city before the horror. Now, as I sit in San Diego, I try not to hate those responsible for the botched response to the hurricane. I've been listening to national politicians who state that what happened in New Orleans could not be anticipated. That is a blatant lie. It was common knowledge that our coasts were vulnerable and the levees were inadequate for a hurricane as strong as Katrina. For decades, our local and state officials have fought for funding to rebuild the eroding coasts and levees. Although I know that my immediate family and friends are safe, my family has lost all its material possessions. I am sad and angry but not broken. I am alive. I am one of the fortunate ones. But what about my neighbors? ROBIN ROCQUE San Diego

I am an evacuee from Metairie, LA. The majority of people on the Gulf Coast, even those of us who left before the storm hit land, were in a state of denial. Mistakes were made--too many of them fatal--on all levels. Although there must be a thorough accounting of what went wrong and why, I beg the media to focus on the kindness and strength of the human spirit that we are seeing now. Just as with 9/11 and the Indian Ocean tsunami, good can come out of disaster. We have some tough choices ahead. I pray that we make the right ones. JANE LABRECHE HEBERT Friendswood, Texas

Katrina and its aftermath demonstrate our misplaced priorities: cutting taxes for the rich instead of shoring up infrastructure and maximizing corporate profits at the expense of the environment. A nation that abandons its poorest, weakest citizens to the vagaries of a glorified free market shouldn't call itself civilized. BETSY RIM Phoenix, Ariz.

Revising Government's Role