A Tale of Two Leaders

During the Presidency of Grover Cleveland a large drought hit the west Texas region. Opposing party leaders and much of the local populace were screaming for the Federal Government to send in over $10,000.00 in aid. President Cleveland, however, was certain that the American people could, and would, come to the aid of their fellow countrymen. You see, President Cleveland believed that it was not the Federal Government's job to directly care for the people. The true care of a region's people fell to the community in which they lived, the Church in which they worshipped and finally the local government that governed them, he argued. In fact, Cleveland believed this so wholeheartedly that he told the region that it was up to them to care for its own. Only in a lack of local funds would he allow to Federal Government to intervene. This certainly was not a popular decision, and many leaders both in his party, the opposing party, and the press forecasted disaster, both for west Texas and for the President. They were all wrong. Not only did the community recover, but the American People united and brought in over 1 million dollars for the hard hit area. Much, much, more than they even dreamed of asking for.

President Bush has pledged over 62 Billion dollars of the Federal Government's money to the relief of Hurricane Katrina. If you think that this is a tremendous amount of money, and you wonder how it may be spent, you are not alone. I find this interesting that President Bush has pledged this much money even in the face of admittedly tremendous initiative on the part of faith based organizations. The very organizations that President Bush was so excited about in the early years of his first term.

Perhaps the Federal Government should look back at history and weigh the benefits of stepping in and committing to such a large hand. What with the success of our local Churches, charities, and private support; perhaps this could be a chance for America to prove that she is still made out of the mettle she once was.