Why I do not enjoy living in America

Although I am proud to be an American, I do not enjoy living in America right now. Since the Republican Party took control of the house and senate in 2001, America and its reputation have degraded dramatically. We have become a country that has lost its sense of purpose and values. A country that is controlled by a party who feels it is necessary to provide tax cuts to the wealthy, while ignoring the needs of the middle class.

There is no better example of the failure of American leadership then our responses to hurricane Katrina. Many consider hurricane Katrina to have been the most destructive natural disaster in U.S. history. The overall destruction wrought by Hurricane Katrina, which was both a large and powerful hurricane as well as a catastrophic flood, vastly exceeded that of any other major disaster, such as the Chicago Fire of 1871, the San Francisco Earthquake and Fire of 1906, and Hurricane Andrew in 1992.

View of the eyewall of Hurricane Katrina taken on ...

Hurricane Katrina making its second landfall in Lo...

English: President George W. Bush looks out over t...

This devastating storm list almost 80% of New Orleans flooded. It completely destroyed an estimated 300,000 homes, and over 100,000 businesses. When the winds and floods of Hurricane Katrina subsided, an estimated 1,330 people were dead as a result of the storm (1). And as for the survivors, the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina has been characterized by a mixture of grief, anxiety, and frustration. Many of the survivors were left homeless and unemployed.

Although it has been a year since Hurricane Katrina, there are still thousands of individual who are still waiting to receive federal aid from the government. In fact, not only has the government failed to provide aid for the victims of this tragedy, they have begun cutting hurricane Katrina relief funding. Just recently senate Republicans defeated an amendment offered by Senator Lincoln that would have...