Build it and they will come. Don’t build it and you will be sorry. Maybe. If you really care. One has to wonder whether the leadership of American Samoa really does.
The U. S. territory was hit on September 29 by a tsunami that left 34 people dead. Now, as part of an exclusive report aired on Tuesday’s AC360, we are told that millions of American dollars had been granted to the Samoan government prior to the tsunami to build a warning system that, if in place, would have provided ample time for all persons to recede to higher ground. The up shoot: speculation that not even one life would have been lost if the warning had been provided.
Samoan leaders spent money on themselves rather than protecting their citizens
Instead of building the system, Samoan leaders evidently spent the money on toys and luxuries that they evidently see as perks of their positions. Plasma televisions. Comfortable chairs. New vehicles. Items they evidently value more highly than the lives of the average Samoan.
Dovetail that with a report later in the evening on upcoming gubernatorial elections in the United States that are, according to the polls, closely divided between the Democrats and Republican contenders. Shortly after Barack Obama’s election, the Democrats were riding high. Since then, their ability to get anything done has soured the American public’s hopes, leaving the average voter with nowhere to actually turn.
Part of this is because the average U. S. Congressman and Senator shares the same character qualities as those in charge in American Samoa. They are more worried about the perks of their offices, and keeping them, than they are about serving the interests of the American people.
If elected officials in Washington were willing to give up their perks, and those that they provide in subtle ways to their largest campaign contributors, they could apply that money along way towards financing health care for all its citizens. Instead, Nancy Pelosi is more concerned with getting a chauffeur-driven limousine ride to work each morning than she is in accomplishing anything once she gets there. Other than staying in office.
It is a long way physically from Washington, D. C. to American Samoa, but in the character of its “leaders”, it is not any distance at all. 34 lives versus the perks of their office. You have to wonder if the Samoan leadership really cares at all. Ther same goes for many in the U. S. Congress. – George Curcio
The News Machine
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