Hurricane Katrina brought forth an outpouring of generosity. Badger football fans donated $60,000 for the relief effort at its home opener. As of Sept. 17, there have been $762.5 million pledges and donations to the American Red Cross for Katrina assistance. From inviting evacuees into their homes to volunteering at the Astrodome, Americans are showing a compassion not seen since Sept. 11.

Along with this compassion and generosity, there has been an outpouring of anger and demands to find out who is at fault for the insufficient planning for this disaster. President Bush accepted blame Sept. 13 for the federal government's failure to act effectively in leading the evacuation and the relief effort. The director of the Federal Emergency Management Agenda, Michael Brown, resigned Sept. 12 due to harsh criticism of FEMA's ineffectiveness.

Both conservatives and liberals, however, are pointing the finger of blame. The Associated Press reported that conservative websites are criticizing Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Blanco for the lack of readiness in dealing with the impending crisis. On the other hand, Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La., blames the federal government for not providing the necessary support to state and local agencies.

Both sides agree, however, on one fact: the government somehow failed in planning for the evacuation and in the lack of control in the Katrina relief effort. Now both sides are making sure that the other takes the political heat for the failure.

What is actually important, though, is that our government showed the world it still cannot respond effectively to a major disaster, despite forewarnings of the hurricane. Instead of placing blame, both sides need to figure out how to respond effectively to a major disaster.

The members of the Sept. 11 Commission — both Republicans and Democrats — have voiced a unanimous opinion that the government on all levels still cannot react to a major crisis, whether hurricane or terrorist attack. Reuters reported that the Sept. 11 Commission cited serious problems with incompatible radio frequencies of local agencies (resulting in confusion on the ground), an unclear understanding of who is in charge and serious security and critical infrastructure risks. All these recommendations made well before Katrina struck have not been addressed sufficiently by the government. As a result, the evacuation effort was spotty, and many were stranded on rooftops struggling to survive instead of moved safely out of danger.

The government had ample time to obtain supplies, alert advance-relief teams and plan how to get citizens out of the hurricane's path. Government on all levels failed miserably.

What will we do if there is a terrorist attack with no warning? As John Lehman, one of the Sept. 11 commissioners, stated, "The Katrina disaster and the failure of leadership at so many levels … has had to have encouraged terrorists." Our government's inaction may have accelerated the planning for the next terrorist act instead of discouraging it. Government needs to enact the lessons learned from both Sept. 11 and Katrina before the next disaster strikes.

On a state level, Wisconsin is taking the initiative to assess and rethink reacting to a major crisis. On Sept. 15, Gov. Jim Doyle ordered the commander of the Wisconsin National Guard to evaluate how the state would respond to a disaster, including evaluating Madison's evacuation plans.

All levels of government need to take into account all types of disasters and plan accordingly. From Bascom Hall to the Capitol, we must all plan for the worst now instead of playing the blame game after the fact.

Blaming the other side may score political points and bring solace to those whom the government failed, but this should not be the top priority. The most pressing issue is helping the victims of the Gulf Coast recover and rebuild. We must then enact necessary measures to ensure that all levels of government work together in a time of crisis. Sept. 11 showed the world our vulnerabilities. Katrina should not have shown the world that we did not learn from Sept. 11. Instead of playing politics, our government must learn the lessons to truly plan ahead for the next crisis before it is too late.

Jeff Carnes ([email protected]) is a senior majoring in linguistics.