Truth and Tragedy

Truth and Tragedy

Dear Fellow Marylanders,

To date, in the short time since Hurricane Helene and Hurricane Milton struck the Southeast, the federal government led by President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris has provided more than $1.8 billion in assistance to states, local governments, small businesses, and individuals or families.

In addition to thousands of workers helping to rescue residents, clear debris and provide emergency services, funding has been available for emergency housing, food, baby formula, safe drinking water and more. And according to The White House, "The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) has offered over $48 million in tentatively approved disaster loan funding to survivors of Hurricanes Helene and Milton."

This swift response to some of the deadliest storms in our nation's history has continued despite public comments from some current and former officials - seemingly made up out of nowhere - that FEMA was not helping people in need and was diverting funds to other programs. These statements could not be further from the truth and only served to sow confusion and rile up people who lived far away from the disaster areas.

Why someone would deliberately spread false information about disaster assistance, creating confusion on the ground for people who needed help and animosity towards workers and volunteers trying to help people at some of the most difficult times in their life is beyond reasonable comprehension.

It has gotten downright dangerous. North Carolina officials had to pause some of their door-to-door relief operations - bringing critical information about available federal, state and local resources directly to storm victims - after violent threats were made against the workers. One man with an assault rifle was arrested.

According to the Washington Post, the U.S. Forest Service, which sent workers to support FEMA's recovery operation, advised all of its personnel to leave Rutherford County, N.C. because "National Guard troops had encountered 'armed militia' saying they were 'out hunting FEMA.'"

Hunting FEMA? We have now crossed a line where there is purposefully so much misinformation floating around concerning what the federal government does and does not do for the American people that some are quickly convinced that the worst-case scenario is the truth and not fiction.

The federal government has been providing disaster relief assistance to Americans since 1803. FEMA was formally created in 1979 with the dual mission of emergency management and civil defense. After 9/11, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security was created, combining FEMA and 21 other agencies under one umbrella.

Admittedly, FEMA has not always been the most well run agency. Hurricane Katrina comes to mind. But the current response to Hurricanes Helene and Milton have been swift and effective. Republican governors have praised President Biden for his administration's responsiveness. Storms and floods do not ask for party affiliation before destroying communities and neither does FEMA when providing help.

Today, the misinformation targets disaster relief. Other days the target is border security and undocumented immigrants. Our judicial system and law enforcement have been under attack, as well as our election system and economic data. It's hard to tell what to believe.

Regretfully, those peddling such misinformation - lies, really - would like nothing more than for Americans to have trouble telling fact from fiction. If people doubt everything told to them, the truth is harder to recognize.

As difficult as it is, the best response to misinformation is to call it out and expose the perpetrators. Fact-checking, with facts and firsthand information from trusted sources are important. Elected officials and other community leaders also need to stand up for the truth and stop enabling the very actions and verbal abuse that is degrading faith in our society.

There is a classic laugh line that says, "Hi. I'm from the government and I'm here to help you." But when disaster strikes, this isn't a cliché, but a lifeline. It would be good for all those attacking FEMA right now to remember this. The next community that needs assistance may be theirs.

Thank you for your time. Please feel free to reply to this email with your thoughts on this or any other topic. Please also consider how you might be able to help those in serious need across the Southeast. There are many quality organizations on the ground helping wherever they can.

In solidarity,

Ben Cardin

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