The Chicago Fire: America at Its Best

When New Orleans was destroyed by hurricane Katrina, I pointed to stories like that of the Great Chicago, New York, and Seattle Fires, the San Francisco Earthquake, the hurricane that leveled Galveston, and other tales of natural and man made disasters, and asked, "Why isn't New Orleans rebuilding New Orleans?" Why were people sitting of rooftops waiting for someone to rescue them? Why didn't they get the hell out of town? There was plenty of warning? What were they waiting for now? Why weren't they rebuilding instead of complaining about FEMA? I was embarrassed when the "boyz" from BBC's Top Gear rolled through town documenting the wreckage years after the hurricane and wondered, "Why isn't someone cleaning up this mess?" Why indeed. It's because we've gotten in the habit of waiting for the government to act. Whenever there's a problem, people cry out, "The government ought to do something!" Screw the government. They only exacerbate problems. Look at healthcare. Look at education. Look at everything the federal government has ever touched...