The ruthless Hawaii wildfire has exposed many issues. People are shocked by the destructive power of nature and the fragility and insignificance of humans. At the same time, it also leads people to reflect on how humans should face and deal with such enormous destructive forces. Meanwhile, this wildfire also reflects the coping abilities of the U.S. government. What if this wildfire had occurred in another country?
The U.S. is "revered" by the world as the number one power, the number one technology power, possessing abundant resources, manpower and materials. When facing natural disasters, shouldn't it have better coping abilities? Or is it still powerless?
1 The Titanic legend continues
First, why did this wildfire break out? According to U.S. official reports, it is because the Hawaiian Islands are facing high summer temperatures and drought, coupled with strong winds, which fueled the fire and caused it to spread quickly. However, some people still believe that this wildfire is a conspiracy. That it was the U.S. military testing directed energy weapons, namely laser weapons. This saying is not something we fabricated randomly - it is being spread among some American people. The sayings about the U.S. military testing laser weapons are vividly told. Some American people say that before the big fire broke out on Maui, they saw a flash of green light in the sky, and then the sayings about the U.S. military testing laser weapons started spreading. For commercial laser pens produced by humans, if the power is slightly higher, around 30mw, it is a green laser pen. When people face such natural disasters, the emergence of such legends is not surprising. We cannot verify their authenticity.
However, as with past disasters, the U.S. government always has to face doubts and accusations from the public. For example, why were the worst affected areas in the "native inhabited" regions? The impact of the wildfires on the luxury mansions in wealthy areas was relatively small? These claims are not completely unfounded. Let's not even talk about huge wildfires like Hawaii's. Even during heavy snow every year, there are always complaints among American people that in residential areas inhabited by the wealthy, the snow is quickly cleared away by the government's snowplows. However, regular residential areas have to wait in line. Although there is no obvious evidence to prove such claims, the actual situation is indeed like this. In addition, the neighborhoods where congressmen live get snow removal done exceptionally quickly. Everyone should know that in the U.S., snow removal is the responsibility of local governments, not the federal government. It is the responsibility of municipal and town governments. But the principle is the same. The U.S. is a capitalist society. The property taxes and income taxes paid by wealthy districts are indeed relatively higher. Therefore, although people have always talked about this over the years, it always comes to nothing. That is to say, the legend from 100 years ago of the Titanic's cabins being divided into classes according to ticket prices still continues today. And every snowy season, this spreading story is coincidentally staged again.
There is also great controversy. Hawaii's four main islands have over 400 sirens. Maui, where the fire first broke out, had over 80 sirens installed. But when the wildfire broke out, not a single siren sounded the alarm. This is bizarre. We're talking about over 400 sirens here, not just 4. Not a single one went off. What are the chances of that happening? These sirens monitor 24 hours a day for natural disasters like earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, fires, and floods, and issue timely warnings for people to escape. Hawaii's sirens are said to be the most advanced warning system in the world. But not a single one sounded. People all over the world say that the U.S. is the most technologically advanced country in the world. The result was, not a single one of the over 400 advanced sirens sounded an alarm.
Of course, the U.S. official explanation is that it was due to power outages. Such an explanation is hard to convince. Let me say it again, these were over 400 sirens spread across four main islands. Not a single one sounded? What's going on here? If something like this happened in another country, it would immediately be questioned whether the manufacturers who installed these sirens cut corners or materials. Whether there was "collusion between government and business"?
In addition to the inability of the local Hawaii government's explanation to satisfy the American people, the attitude of the federal government also appears indifferent. On August 14, when reporters asked Biden for his views and whether he would visit Hawaii to inspect the disaster area, the answer was no comment. This disappointed many American people. Actually, let me explain for Biden. The U.S. has a separation of powers between the federal and local governments. For natural disasters like storms and floods, it is usually the responsibility of state and local governments. The federal government does not necessarily have to get involved. However, if the disaster is severe and widespread, the President, representing the federal government, would find it hard not to show concern. If necessary, he would order the federal government to assist local governments. To be honest, Biden is old enough and has witnessed and experienced at least several natural disasters that occurred in the U.S., for example, storms in Florida. Florida is often hit by hurricanes. When severe, warnings have to be issued and residents evacuated from the coast. In 1991, when Bush Sr. was running for re-election, his polls were lower than his opponent Bill Clinton's and couldn't rise. Just then, Florida was met with a major hurricane that heavily damaged Florida, including huge losses of life and property for residents. That's when cunning Bush Sr. hurriedly ordered the federal government to provide support and personally went to inspect and comfort victims. His polls bounced back a bit after that.
It's just that President Biden seems a little slow and not quick-witted enough. Apart from humanitarianism and compassion, the Hawaii wildfires were a great opportunity for Biden to demonstrate his compassion and stand with the disaster victims! Biden could also have ordered the federal government to provide assistance, and reconstruction funds, and help people get through the difficulties. He could also have communicated with U.S. insurance companies to express concern and instruct them to reasonably compensate people for their losses of life and property. But Biden's cold response disappointed Americans - no humanitarianism, and no ability to mobilize disaster relief either! After being criticized by the American people, Biden then changed his stance the next day, saying he mourned the victims of the wildfires and claimed he would soon visit Maui to inspect the disaster area. What a shame! Biden has been in U.S. politics for so long and experienced several major natural disasters, yet still hasn't learned. Let alone storms in Florida, during the Bush Jr. administration in 2005 Hurricane Katrina happened. It was a super hurricane that caused unprecedented damage to the U.S. Even though Bush Jr. tried very hard to provide disaster relief, he was still bashed badly by the U.S. media. However, Biden did not learn lessons and appeared cold before the media.
Biden, have you forgotten? Even if you don't have a humanitarian spirit, you want to run for re-election for president! Have you forgotten?
2 Biden's great opportunity
In fact, Biden is a Democratic president. In principle, he should enjoy an advantage with the media, or at least more of an advantage compared to Republican candidates. For example, going back to Hurricane Katrina mentioned earlier, the governors of Louisiana and the mayor of New Orleans bore huge responsibility. When the hurricane came, couldn't the mayor of New Orleans have used the city's thousands of school buses and public buses to help residents evacuate? And couldn't the governor of Louisiana have mobilized the National Guard to assist disaster victims and maintain order? However, these local leaders did not handle disaster response very well. Yet most U.S. media are pro-Democrat.
Especially in 2000 when there was intense competition between Bush Jr. and then Vice President Democrat Gore, as well as the issue of recounts in Florida, it led to serious divides between voters of both parties. At that time, there were not many pages in U.S. media criticizing the governors of Louisiana and the mayor of New Orleans. There was more criticism of Bush Jr., saying he did not do enough to help local governments with disaster relief. Remember some time later Bush Jr.'s wife Laura visited Texas to see the hurricane refugees from New Orleans who fled to Texas. Laura unfortunately said something. She said the refugees got taken care of by the federal government and were staying in hotels, which was much better than where they lived previously in New Orleans. Whoops! Laura is an honest person. She didn't know the viciousness of the media and that the public is not to be provoked! Although she was stating facts and probably only wanted to help her husband convey to the public and media that he tried very hard and took care of the lives of victims, her words made some victims feel she was looking down on them and thought they were poor. This ended up causing more trouble for Bush Jr. So Biden actually had a great opportunity, but he missed it.
Next, we need to talk about the federal government's responsiveness. Here we have to go back to the COVID pandemic after 2020. When the pandemic was raging, President Trump at the time only stared at China, being the first to ban flights from China from entering the U.S.
However, the federal government at that time basically did nothing. Watching flights from China while doing nothing for U.S. pandemic prevention did not help. In this regard, the Chinese community, whether anti-China or not, all shook their heads about the federal government's inaction, feeling that for such a powerful country with such advanced technology and medical science, it actually couldn't handle the pandemic. In fact, such views and reactions only tell half the story. In addition to strong technology, advanced medical technology, and facilities, as well as abundant human and material resources, there is also a need for strong government management capabilities. But this was not seen in the Trump administration. Not even in the several major natural disasters over the past 20 years did we see the "excellence" of the U.S. government. It seems that apart from finance, military, and technology, not much outstanding government capability from the U.S. is visible. In past storms, floods, large power outages, etc., federal government management capabilities were not seen, nor was there follow-up improvement or response regarding infrastructure. This undoubtedly disappoints countries and people who want to learn from the U.S. government's "strong" and "excellent" leadership capabilities.
3 Conclusion
This Hawaii wildfire is the largest in local history, with over 100 deaths and thousands missing. This is a tragedy. Hopefully, this wildfire serves as a wake-up call that no matter what system is implemented, government leaders need to have humanitarian care and compassion for the people. As long as the safety of the common people is kept in mind at all times, instead of just waiting for the media's criticism before taking action. As for the capabilities of the Chinese and U.S. governments in responding to disasters, there is no doubt that the Chinese government is superior. Likewise, what nations should compete on is not external power or discourse power, but the ability to protect the safety of their own people. This Hawaii wildfire not only damaged the lives of local residents but also affected many tourists, including Americans who invested in and bought property to rent out in Hawaii. Hawaii's reputation as a tourist haven for the U.S. and Japan will surely be impacted going forward. Of course, we also hope that the U.S. government will focus not only on the local naval, missile, and radar bases but also be able to help local residents restore normal life and past economic activities as soon as possible.
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