True Character

I've just about had my fill of "Blackout" news. If I hear one more story about neighbors sitting on their front porch, basking in the light of candles and neighborly love, I think I'll vomit. When CNN, MSNBC, and Fox News resort to 24-hour-coverage of a blackout, you know it's a slow news week. I read an amusing quote while working out yesterday. Praising the reactions of those affected, President Bush stated:

The people of New York City and New York state and people of the Northeast and Midwest who were affected by last night's blackout kept their calm, were decent to their neighbors, really showed the rest of the country and the world the true character of the American people.

The true character of American people? Personally, I'd like to believe most human beings would step and help one another. I don't think the U.S. has the market cornered in that regard. Here's what the people of New York, Detroit, and Cleveland, and the surrounding areas should be asking.

*Why was it impossible to purchase anything?
*Why weren't retailers prepared to do business without a computer or cash register?
*Did anyone attempt to calculate discounts and sales tax using a battery powered calculator or ::gasp:: by using long-hand addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division?

What does it say about American character when the President applauds us for not flipping out in the dark? If you were afffected by the blackout, give yourself a pat on the back. You didn't loot the local convenience store and you didn't resort to hurting each other. Hooray! Think about this: for U.S. citizens, a blackout is a major inconvenience. For many people of our world, living without electricity, clean drinking water, and indoor plumbing is the normal state-of-affairs.