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November 30 can’t get here soon enough! For all of you who might not know the significance of that last day of November, it’s the “supposed” end of our 2024 hurricane season. With Milton raising cane and wind out in the Gulf of Mexico, I can use the 1960’s pop radio slogan, “And the hits just keep on coming.” Many of us have family in the central Florida area, so let’s keep all of them in our thoughts and prayers.

            I have used a word, leviathan, in my title. The leviathan is referenced many times in the Bible. It’s mentioned in the Psalms, the Book of Job, and in the prophecy of Isaiah. Simply speaking, the leviathan is a large and dangerous sea serpent and an enemy of God’s people.

            The word can also mean something that has become too large and is uncontrollable or even inefficient. Hurricane Helene has brought to my mind this word leviathan. The storm is not the leviathan, although it was huge. It has wrought an amount of devastation, the likes of which we have never seen.

            More than anything, Hurricane Helene has shown us the inefficiency of a government that has not answered the call of helping as it could. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has failed to serve the people in need. We can remember that inefficiency as we remember our bout with Hurricane Michael.

            Maybe we shouldn’t expect so much out of the bureaucracies of Uncle Sam. I will grant that the task of following a massive hurricane, like Helene, is Herculean. I wouldn’t want to be the Director of FEMA, but the person who is the Director is there for handling such a job. They get paid a handsome salary to lead an agency and make it efficient.

            It’s not like we didn’t see the storm coming. We might not know exactly what direction it may ultimately take, but we knew it was going to be large and it doesn’t seem that this agency is performing as well as it should.

            It’s hard to find silver linings in natural disasters, but there are some and they don’t begin with the leviathan that we have come to know as our Washington establishment. Helene hit on Thursday. I’m sure FEMA was involved quickly, but it didn’t hold a meeting until Monday. That’s the fourth day.

            I’ll tell you who hit the ground running and they are the silver lining. Everyday people, neighbors of those who were hit were helping others right away. Amidst the devastation all over the southeastern USA, private helicopters began flying in supplies.

            Samaritan’s Purse showed up immediately with water and food. The owners of local establishments, if they could, began to use whatever they could find to feed for free. Churches will step into the gap with offerings and collections of clothing. The Cajun Navy of Louisiana, volunteers who know how to navigate their small boats in flooded areas, headed to western North Carolina.

            With communications out, Elon Musk flew his Starlink employees in so they could set up their satellite terminals so people could email and call out to let their families know they were okay. Thousands of electrical workers from all over the nation flocked into the areas to help with electrical power as soon as they could. That’s dangerous work.

            Just as roads needed to be cleared from downed trees, men and women who knew how to operate chainsaws went to work.

            As it should be, regular people helping those in need are the backbone of a nation. It’s not a bloated and inefficient federal government that gets the job done. As per usual, it’s hardworking, regular folks!