Have We Lost Faith in Our Government
The federal government has taken a lot of flak in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, and rightly so. Though responding to catastrophes is admittedly a complex problem involving a complexity of coordination and action, even discounting for the degree of difficulty the federal government failed. And many in the American public let them have it.
But what hurts the most to me, someone who desires to make a difference in government, is not the loud objectors but the silent ones. Though many have heaped their vitriol on government people from Bush on down, many others have said absolutely nothing. It seems a large group of Americans has resigned themselves to the ineptitude and bureaucracy of government action.
In contrast, when we hear of private sector efficiency -- one remarkable example is Wal-Mart, which quickly shut down and then reopened affected stores, mobilized needed equipment to nearby areas, and even anticipated a spike in demand for strawberry Pop-Tarts -- we marvel at first, but then shrug our shoulders, as if to say, "Well, that's to be expected, in this day and age of information technology and ceaseless competition: get nimble, or get run over."
Have we so lost our faith in our government that a corporation motivated solely by financial profit is to be expected to have more motivation to get better and better each day than an entity that has been charged with protecting the homeland, caring for those whom the market will not care for, and safeguarding freedom? What can we do within government circles to unleash the kind of productivity, efficiency, and innovation that we have come to expect from the private sector? What will it take for the American people to believe in our government again, instead of shrugging our shoulders and expecting bumbling incompetence and mind-numbing bureacracy?
I'd like to know.
But what hurts the most to me, someone who desires to make a difference in government, is not the loud objectors but the silent ones. Though many have heaped their vitriol on government people from Bush on down, many others have said absolutely nothing. It seems a large group of Americans has resigned themselves to the ineptitude and bureaucracy of government action.
In contrast, when we hear of private sector efficiency -- one remarkable example is Wal-Mart, which quickly shut down and then reopened affected stores, mobilized needed equipment to nearby areas, and even anticipated a spike in demand for strawberry Pop-Tarts -- we marvel at first, but then shrug our shoulders, as if to say, "Well, that's to be expected, in this day and age of information technology and ceaseless competition: get nimble, or get run over."
Have we so lost our faith in our government that a corporation motivated solely by financial profit is to be expected to have more motivation to get better and better each day than an entity that has been charged with protecting the homeland, caring for those whom the market will not care for, and safeguarding freedom? What can we do within government circles to unleash the kind of productivity, efficiency, and innovation that we have come to expect from the private sector? What will it take for the American people to believe in our government again, instead of shrugging our shoulders and expecting bumbling incompetence and mind-numbing bureacracy?
I'd like to know.
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