The Marietta Daily Journal – Atlanta’s icy logjam was a beacon of hope for future

The metro Atlanta region came to a standstill last week, its interstates, highways and side streets glazed over with ice after a sudden snowfall, and thousands of commuters left stranded. Children spent the night at school, people bedded down in churches, restaurants, hotel lobbies and grocery stores.

The rest of America chuckled good-humoredly at those silly Atlantans who can’t even drive in a dusting of snow.

The fingerpointing and soul-searching began early. Whose fault? Why didn’t government learn from the last ice storm? What can policy makers do better next time? What is wrong with motor-centric Atlanta that it won’t embrace mass transit? Why isn’t Georgia spending more on (fill in the blank)?

What was the common thread? Individual responsibility and personal initiative. People acted without prompting from government. They didn’t wait to be told to help. They saw a need, they filled it. They were charitable in the truest sense of the word. People weren’t “giving back;” they were giving. Without expecting anything in return — not even a tax credit.

Todd Rehm of GaPundit.com distributes a daily news column. On Thursday, he wrote, “From the whole mess and the blamestorming that are following, here are two truths about Atlanta that I have been reminded of.

(1) Our weakness is our reliance on government. This is true across the United States, but demonstrated nowhere more memorably than Atlanta’s roads beginning Tuesday afternoon.

(2) Our strength is our community and the willingness of our friends, family, neighbors, churches, business owners and ourselves to lend a hand to someone in need without having to be told, asked or paid to do so.”

The “blamestorm” will continue. But there’s hope for America. “Greedy” businesses? “Selfish” wealthy? Efforts to instigate class and race warfare through allegations of income inequality faded away Tuesday night as Georgians stepped up to help fellow citizens.

On the night of a State of the Union address that, according to the National Taxpayers Union Foundation, will cost $40 billion for government to “help” with jobs, housing, student loans, joblessness, retirement and more, there was no charge for individual initiative, personal responsibility and the kindness of strangers.

via The Marietta Daily Journal – Atlanta s icy logjam was a beacon of hope for future.