Quartering of Soldiers

The only amendment to the United States Constitution in the Bill of Rights never to be litigated in court is the 3rd Amendment. Most people probably have no idea what the 3rd Amendment even says, much less that it has never had a hearing before the U.S. Supreme Court. I imagine that is about to change. President Bush is embarking on an initiative that has dire implications for the liberty of ordinary citizens in this country. If his unbridled deficit spending, multiplication of social programs, meager efforts at social security, medicare, and tax reform weren't enough reasons to criticize this administration, the President just gave us another. I am far from being a wild-eyed liberal critic of the war, and I am a staunch supporter of the military. However, one of the hallmarks of the American system of government is the prohibition against using the military on our own citizens. Cindy Sheehan (the clinically insane protester whose son died last year in Iraq) referred to "Occupied New Orleans" with the sights of American military personal mobilizing to assist in the recovery effort in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Sheehan took the criticism too far. Without doubt, the lawlessness that was occurring in New Orleans was shameful, and dispatching armed military personnel was excessive, but it was not "Occupied."

However, it is imperative that we recognize the long-term implications of this new precedent. The President announced this week his desire to utilize the military more often in disaster situations and states of emergency. This has all of the makings of a would-be dictatorship under an administration more Machiavellian than the present one. President Bush, despite being an incapable President on budget matters, and an incompetent president in the year 2005 all around, is not evil. In today's age of media presidential campaigns, soundbites, and cameras, the people of America should be weary of any current attempts to expand the scope and influence of domestic military activity in case we someday get duped by a Hitler or a Mussolini.

Rather than establishing an explicitly governmental program of response to natural disasters, Congress and this administration should take a more creative approach to such situations. FEMA should be reorganized to merely coordinate the tens of thousands of potential volunteers so that the average person who wants to help his neighbor in need can be effective in times of crisis. By bringing together the efforts of the Red Cross, the Salvation Army, the Southern Baptist Convention (the top three providers of disaster relief assistance in the United States), and the countless other organizations who reach out to people in time of need, FEMA and the Federal Government could save the taxpayers millions of dollars on additional federal personnel who would only be used irregularly, while rebuilding a spirit of community among the citizens of the United States. It is when we get past this failed experiment with rugged individualism that we will truly be able to value the individual and the community, and in the process we might well salvage our liberty too.

Nowhere To Turn

As the already impoverished people of New Orleans attempt to free themselves from the putrid liquid that engulfed them in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, the spinmeisters and hucksters of the political realm are attempting to make partisan hay out of this tragedy. While Jesse Jackson and the Congressional Black Caucus try to paint the federal government's pitiful response to the hurricane as being indicative of George W. Bush's racism, the poor people of New Orleans are still alone. The reality is that this tragedy, like all others, will be remedied by the efforts, not of the Government, but private organizations and individuals acting out of pure compassion. From the Red Cross and Salvation Army to the Southern Baptist Convention, hundreds of private charitable organizations are making a positive impact on the lives of the downtrodden in Louisiana and Mississippi.

My question, however, is: where was all this compassion six months ago, or five years ago when the people of New Orleans were living in their poverty? And across this country, even today, there are hundreds of thousands of Americans living in utterly destitute conditions with no hope of ever coming out of them. The government tried for the last forty years to put an end to such poverty, and has failed miserably. It is time for the Church in this country to stand up with creative solutions to help people in need and glorify God by fulfilling Christ's second great command "Love thy neighbor."