Hero and the Cult of Celebrity Analysis of Hurricane Katrina

In the past ten years, there have been two national-level disasters that befell the United States.  The first, disaster is the terrorist attacks of September 11^th, 2001, and the second is the landfall of Hurricane Katrina in 2005.  9/11 will forever be remembered as a heroic period in American history.  Hurricane Katrina, on the other hand, has been played out in popular culture as a mega-blunder.  This view of Katrina is untrue; and Katrina should be considered one of our finest hours or at least an equally heroic period in American history.  

In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, a number of heroes emerged.  These heroes included the soldiers, sailors, and emergency responders who made numerous rescues during and after the storm.  Images and stories of these rescues have been recorded and replayed many different times.  What wasn’t effectively reported were the countless acts of heroism that were committed by civilians who risked life and limb to save their neighbors. 

Instead of focusing on the good outcomes from Katrina, popular media has focused on the negative stories and the “villains” who played a role in them.  These villains included those in local, state, and Federal government who the media perceived as not having responded quickly enough.  They include those responsible for the flooded busses that could have been used in the evacuation, and former New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin who will always be known for his blundered the evacuation of New Orleans (Reiland, 2005). 

In popular culture there is the theory of heroes and villains.  This theory is important to consider when thinking of Hurricane Katrina.  We should remember that many people did evacuate; we should remember that countless people volunteered food, water, and even shelter to those who survived the storm.  Katrina deserves a version of the patriotic images such as the raising of the flag at the World Trade Center.  Nevertheless, Hurricane Katrina will always be treated in popular culture as a blunder.  Remember this fact when you read about some of the great blunders in history.  Consider that while we may read that is was a blunder, there were probably countless heroes who will never receive credit for their selfless actions. 

References

Reiland, R. R. (2005, September 19). Comedy of Deadly Errors. Retrieved January 27, 2012, from www.pittsburghlive.com: http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/s_374919.html