Hurricanes Katrina and Rita created the most expensive disaster, the largest evacuation, and the third deadliest flood in American history.

Nobody can control Mother Nature but the world's most advanced nation could have protected its citizens better. This disaster revealed the faulty psychological reactions of officials who not only failed to protect the public from danger in New Orleans, but lacked effective responses to the calamity. We elect and hire people who are supposed to protect us from attacks by nature and enemies. However, they fail us because of their human nature. They are as imperfect as we are, but we expect them to collect and heed facts that we cannot know, to prepare for predictable disasters, and to focus on long-term solutions rather than short-term fixes.

Engaged in popularity contests, politicians and officials at all levels did too little about obvious problems. The ugly picture of poor and mainly black flood victims jolted us with poverty, racism, and segregation. Leaders must not wait to improve flood protection, racial inequities, a deteriorating healthcare system, dwindling resources, and climatic changes until crises occur. This costly disaster should awaken us to re-examine and change our methods of selecting politicians and leaders.

"We must change our current leadership by the President, captains of industry, leaders of government, law enforcement, healthcare, and the media. We are inundated with self-serving behaviors from those who loot and shoot to those in power who cast aspersions and dodge blame." Ken Jacuzzi, business coach/consultant and author.