A mere suggestion only

Encouraging news today from New Orleans as officials on the scene say the death toll may be much lower than initially feared. There's caution even in that, however, as there's no true verification until thousands of homes have been searched, and those in the worst flooding will be last to be seen.

Interesting how in this AP story the reporter has placed the word "mandatory" (as in mandatory evacuation) in quotes. This is the first we have noticed of the subtle qualifier, and we heartily approve. Apparently in Louisiana a "mandatory" evacuation is merely a suggestion. We suppose that it's only when authorities begin shooting at you that you realize it's a forcible (or real) evacuation. Or in other words, "Get the hell out of here or we'll save Mother Nature the trouble of killing you."

The libertarian portion of our philosophical upbringing recoils at the idea of forcible evacuation. Whatever happened to free will? If somebody wants to hang loose with the mud, bugs, snakes and 'skeeters without adequate food or safe water, it might just be safer to let them stay, so long as they know that from that moment on they are totally on their own.

Who knows? They might survive anyway, and be all the stronger for it. They might even be better off spiritually, having forsaken the comforts of civilization and the promise of rebuilding their material pile in exchange for a brief time alone with their Maker to ponder the meaning of life, and better prepared for all that to meet Him shortly.

We realize, of course, that this kind of thinking is absolutely frowned upon in modern America. We're supposed to be gung ho about saving people from themselves under all circumstances. No imposition is too great to impose, no liberty too dear to deny, and no billion dollars or one hundred is too inflationary but that it should be diverted to vast bureaucracies marshaling their forces to better the lot of their fellow man, even if it cripples or kills them in the process.

After all, it's good TV.