INCOMPETENCE, OR MALICE?
Just received this note from a SpaceX engineer helping on the ground in North Carolina. @FEMA is not merely failing to adequately help people in trouble, but is actively blocking citizens who try to help!
“Hey Elon, update here on site of Asheville, NC. We have powered up two…
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) October 4, 2024
Just got off the phone a Pastor in the midst of the flooding in TN/NC. He is in one of the most devastated locations. He verified a few things about the situation:
– Almost all help is being done by private citizens, mainly churches.
– Private helicopters are flying in the vast… pic.twitter.com/jCAfZT4Klx— Spencer Smith 🇺🇸🇰🇪🇩🇴 (@BroSpencer) October 4, 2024
Related: Hurricane Helene and the Lost Mandate of Heaven.
The default assumption many people hold now is that the regime is composed of criminals, of enemies. It is difficult not to feel this way. It is, indeed, almost foolish not to.
So when the regime fumble’s the response to a disaster, many will assume that it did so deliberately.
Maybe it did, and maybe it didn’t; that so many assume this to be so is the significant fact.
This is a government which has lost the mandate of heaven. It is no longer fit to rule.
There’s a third theme, though, which is in the long run the most significant.
While the state dithered, schemed, bumped into itself, and got in the way, the self-organizing networks of civil society responded immediately, seamlessly, and nimbly. Civilian helicopters were the first to take to the air; relief supplies were collected and distributed by spontaneously organized rescue missions that got to work right away, without waiting for permission, authorization, or orders. . . .
Given what we’ve seen in North Carolina, and elsewhere, how much government do we really need?
And I think many of us know without being told that the answer is: a whole lot less than what we have now.
Flashback: Amerian Dunkirk. “People at Ground Zero, the Manhattan Waterfront, nearby New Jersey, Staten Island and Brooklyn waterfronts, and crews on the numerous vessels repeatedly used the phrases “just amazing,” “everyone cooperated, and “just doing what it took” to describe maritime community responses. Individuals stepped up and took charge of specific functions, and captains and crews from other companies took their direction. . . . Private maritime operators kept their vessels onsite and available until Friday, Day Four, when federal authorities took over.”
“Day Four, when federal authorities took over.”