I loved the duet by Blake Shelton and Usher singing "Home" at the fundraiser for the Oklahoma tornado victims. This is what we do for each other as Americans (well, except for Katrina): everyone from first responders to the Red Cross, FEMA and neighbohood volunteers showed up after the storm was over to help rescue and clean up. But what if America showed up before the storm to prevent the catastrophic injuries and loss of life?
I've lived through some really bad hurricanes in Florida, but we always had plenty of warning and time to prepare. My heart goes out to those folks in Oklahoma who have almost no time, and no place to go in the few minutes between the warning and the maelstrom.
What if, instead of just helping them dig out afterwards, America showed up in Oklahoma before the storms, and built shelters where people could ride out the storm?
I'm not talking about volunteers, I'm talking about how we, as Americans, work together to help each other. Through the federal government. What if the federal government funded a program to build underground shelters in every poor and working class neighborhood in Oklahoma (and the rest of Tornado Alley) where folks could go when the storm sirens sound?
I am so tired of hearing that people don't have shelters because they are too expensive, and the ground is hard to dig. Well, isn't that the kind of public safety protection that we, as a people, are supposed to provide each other? People should not die because it's expensive and hard to protect them.
As a Floridian I would be happy to help my fellow Americans protect themselves from the kind of awful devastation we are seeing now.
Plus, with homes and businesses destroyed, a project to build underground tornado shelters would create jobs and stimulate the economy.
Oh, wait, I forgot, government isn't supposed to do that, either.