Dane Neville

University of Wisconsin Stout:

Department of Applied Social Sciences

712 Broadway Street South

Menomonie, WI 54751

Memo

To:      Mayor Ray Nagin

From:  Dane Neville

Date:   November 11, 2017

Analysis of Bureaucratic Deficits in Disaster Relief

For

Federal Emergency Management Post-Hurricane Katrina

Mayor Nagin,

I appreciate the time taken to address my letter however, it is decidedly unfortunate that, in the context of my address, I am writing to you. As we are generally aware, significant issues with bureaucratic response to national disasters were uncovered in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. While I am not an expert in the political structure of Louisiana nor New Orleans, I have been a student of history, politics, and economics for the last quarter of my life.

I am obligated as an advocate of peace to plead my case to you. As the Mayor of New Orleans, you have the unique opportunity to create progressive change in New Orleans, and you have the moral obligation as a public servant to address the methods required to mitigate further catastrophe. Analyzing Hurricane Katrina as a case study has allowed me to observe areas crucial to addressing environmental disasters at the scale of Katrina. I have identified 4 key points in my analysis at the personal, local, state, and federal level; in the words of former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, “There are some things we do not know. But there are also unknown unknowns – the ones we don’t know we don’t know. . . That tends to be the difficult ones”.

The Personal Perspective:

            Len Fisher, in Rock Paper Scissors Game Theory in Everyday Life states, “The road to cooperation is made more difficult by our own greed, selfishness, fear of people who are different than ourselves, and mistrust and ignorance of cultures and beliefs that are different than our own” (Fisher. 2008, p. 29). The overarching principals of cooperation expand beyond an individual’s perspective; the degradation of organized society in the immediate aftermath of Hurricane Katrina illustrates the natural truth – society is never more than three square meals from utter destruction. Maslow’s hierarchy of needs dictates an individual’s ability to self-actualize, at its base, is dependent on our ability to feed and hydrate ourselves. You have personally experienced three days without drinkable water in Louisiana; you’ve witnessed the end of an organized Louisiana and the eruption of a humanity that is out of your control. This is a clear indicator that cooperation does not exist between people who do not fulfill the need to drink enough water or eat enough food.

            What I suggest is the addition of food justice and environmental sustainability education at all stages of primary public and private education kindergarten through 12^th grade. All citizens need to know where the food and water they drink originates from, all citizens must be involved, at a base level, in developing interpersonal relationships with local food producers. Bounded Rationality and Organizational Learning asserts the importance of learned information is dependent on its accessibility when that knowledge is relevant, “Depending on its actual locus, knowledge may or may not be available at the decision points where it would be relevant” (Simon, H. A. 1996, p. 126). It would be ideal for all citizens to be aware of the proper practices and protocols in place to react to disasters like Hurricane Katrina, but it is ultimately more important for all citizens to know exactly where to obtain food and water and to have independent relationships with their food/water producers because all higher levels of cooperation are dependent upon food and water – when the government fails to meet these requirements the function of government is irrelevant.

On the Local Level:

            Again, education is integral in the success of mitigation and reaction to catastrophic events. It was Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. who wrote, “I am cognizant of the interrelatedness of all communities and states. I cannot sit idly by in Atlanta and not be concerned about what happens in Birmingham. . . We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly” (Letter from a Birmingham Jail, 1963). I too am cognizant of the interrelatedness of communities and states. Just as King wrote to the clergymen of Georgia, I write to you. I cannot sit idly while injustice is precipitated in our society. Local economic conditions have perpetuated the degradation of the human experience; indeed, a reality exists in New Orleans that drives doctors and nurses to abandon their patients to save their own lives. The National Guard and local police abandon their duty to protect us to protect themselves.

            Failure to recognize the degradation of the human-experience from the local economic reality is the perpetuation of oppression through ignorance. I do not blame you for the existence of this reality, I do not blame New Orleans for the existence of this reality. I will not condemn your efforts, nor the efforts of other agencies in response to Hurricane Katrina in light of this reality because, “Isn’t this like condemning a robbed man because his possession of money precipitated the evil act of robbery?” (King, 1963).

            Conditions where money is the metric evaluation of human life precipitates the devaluation of human life in disaster. As you have seen, capitalism fails demonstrably in catastrophe; the price tag of fresh water does not exist when society does not have it in an abundance, and a society that places value on human life through an economic lens will invariably devalue those same lives in disasters. If you cannot ensure effective federal and state response within three days, local level economic structures must exist to ensure that the value of saving another human life is preferred to the alternative of saving your own life.

The State:

            I recognize that as Mayor, your ability to broker power is greater on a local level, as such; you must advocate for Louisiana State government to resume a role more oriented as a benevolent authority, Fisher edicts, “By joining in the competition for resources [State government is] part of the problem instead of the key to its solution”, as you have personally experienced the state of Louisiana’s agenda differs from the agenda of New Orleans, and cooperation between Louisiana and New Orleans has not always been in the spirit of fair play and mutual cooperation (Fisher, 2008 p. 28). Therefore, as Mayor of New Orleans you are inclined to advocate for the implementation of self-enforcing laws on a state level. Martin Luther King Jr. recognized, “A just law is a manmade code that squares with the moral law” and that, “Any law that uplifts human personality is just. Any law that degrades human personality is unjust” (King, 1963).

            King also shed light on the reality of law on a state level, “Sometimes a law is just on its face and unjust in its application. . . an ordinance becomes unjust when it is used to maintain segregation and to deny citizens [rights]” (King, 1963). As a public servant you are morally obligated to stand for justice and the implementation of just laws. It is your duty to advocate for the implementation of just laws that self-enforce cooperation in times of disaster. The technologic advancements in forecasting technology have allowed us to run modeling scenarios like Hurricane Pam, however the relay of the technological accuracy of these models has not occurred, “There are known knowns. . . There are known unknowns. . . there are also unknown unknowns” (Rumsfeld, 2002) but if the communication systems responsible for relaying known, known unknown, and unknown unknown information do not exist, or cannot function properly in disaster scenarios, the creation of and succinct primary and tertiary information communication systems, and failsafe subsidiary systems is necessary. Thus, on a state level you are required to advocate for the creation of these systems in a framework of justice that uplifts humanity.

Concerning the Federal Government:

            Indeed, addressing the issue of federal government intervention during Hurricane Katrina is necessary. The foundational failure of FEMA is rooted in the restructuring of the organization under two generations of Bush presidencies. As well, there can be no understanding of the United States federal government without confronting the foundation of the United States through the genocide of Indigenous Americans and the enslavement of Africans and the culture that has nurtured for almost five-hundred years. As the late Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. wrote,” Indeed, this is the very purpose of direct action. Nonviolent direct action seeks to create such a crisis and foster such a tension that a community which has constantly refused to negotiate is forced to confront the issue” (King, 1963) By these terms, it is not the perceived ineptitude of the Bush Administration (1989-1993, 2001-2009) nor the perceived ineptitude of Michael Brown fumbling on national television. It is the system that has perpetuated ideology that devalues black and indigenous Americans.

            In this your mission is clear, the reorganization of a national political system based on inequality cannot be solved by the Mayor of New Orleans, but the creation of a political system in New Orleans based on equality can be achieved. As Mayor, if you can coopt the creation of a democratic system based on equality in New Orleans it will provide you with a dialogue platform to discuss independent development of democratic systems rooted in equality nationwide. This discussion will force the federal government to address the reality of its historical foundation in oppression and genocide.

I hope this message to you finds strength in your heart. And that opportunity may arise so that we may meet and work towards a bright future.

Yours for the cause of Peace, Solidarity, and Sustainability,

Dane Neville