No matter where one might stand on the political spectrum--Democrat, Republican or Independent--I believe most would agree with me that fundamentally our government has a responsibility to protect its citizens. What we witnessed with hurricane Katrina has been a colossal disaster on the part of those in charge.
We need to start thinking about turning in a new direction. And begin to believe that such a change in course is possible. We need a new direction, new leadership and a new, bold vision for our country. All of it is possible.
To have a plan for survival, you need to have a vision. We have lost that vision in the false definition of realities. Whether it is the faith-based reality, the economic reality or the political reality, we have accepted limitations on our abilities. These limitations are self-imposed.
In this time of turmoil, so many of our fellow citizens are asking, "How do I move forward with my life now?" As a nation we need to ask, "How should our country move forward now?"
No matter how painful it may be, every crisis provides opportunities for growth and improvement. Great amounts of personal growth can come out of great personal tragedy.
As a nation, we have witnessed a national tragedy that is beyond description, but if we do not use it as an instrument of growth and change, we perpetrate an even greater tragedy on this country.
I have always believed that my fellow citizens -- Republicans, Democrats, and Independents -- really want the same thing for our country. We all want good schools for every child, secure jobs for all who can work, affordable and accessible healthcare for every citizen, and a clean environment that affords us clean air to breathe and clean water to drink.
We should not put limits on this vision because of economics or politics. There is enough ingenuity in this country to solve any problem, but we need to have faith in ourselves and in our vision.
Hurricane Katrina revealed failures on many levels. It also brought out the goodness of many people. As I watched the weeks unfold, I felt a renewed hope that the good of ordinary people outweighed our government's failure to respond.
We need to bring that good, that vision of what is right, that problem solving ability of our ordinary everyday citizen back into our government. That should be our mission as we move forward, because without vision, people perish.