Hurricane Harvey has been amazing in its devastation. All that rain, all that flooding — what a frightening time it must be for those caught within it.
While Harvey’s winds brought in waves and rain and floods, for most of us, far away and snug in our homes, it brought an occasion to donate, and . . . nostalgia.
Nostalgia? It’s not the disaster element so much as an old-time exhibition . . . of journalism. For more than just a few hours, we watched reporters actually report. We saw them stand waist-deep in water. We saw them cover actual events.
And we read them deal in facts . . . like the heroic efforts of the “Cajun Navy.”
Of course, this opinion-free window of media coverage did not last long. The talking heads and Twitter-journos and partisan hacks came flooding back not long after the worst.
Did Trump do enough? Or the right thing?
Did Houston’s no-zoning policy lead to the disaster?
Doesn’t “price gouging” really suck?
Did . . . Enough. It was and is too early for finger-pointing and “Brownie, you’re doing a heckuva job.”
Of course, the Houston zoning discussion is interesting. It is worth noting that there are building rules and governments in Houston, as well a national rules that made homes and businesses there less safe. And economists have already come to their usual defenses of “price gouging” and criticisms of disastrous government programs.
Still, the enormous relief efforts remain the biggest human interest story — thousands of individuals taking the initiative and their boats to join first responders and the National Guard in rescuing thousands trapped by flooding.
So, before we explain it all, let’s luxuriate in what remains of the fact-based reporting.
And help.
This is Common Sense. I’m Paul Jacob.
