Hurricane Harvey: Americans Shine In Crisis

A disaster of epic proportions on the Texas Gulf Coast served to remind us what makes America great. Ordinary folks in Texas and across the nation joined together in heroic fashion to respond to the devastating impact of Hurricane Harvey.  This is the America the world knows and admires.

Millions watched the heartbreaking scenes unfurl on television as more than 12 trillion gallons of rain fell in the Houston area.  Flood waters swamped homes and businesses. People lost their cars, their homes and all their possessions.  Rebuilding costs are expected to far exceed $100 billion.

But you can't put a price tag on human life. At least 70 people died in the horrific aftermath of the hurricane.  But the toll could have been much higher if not for the heroism of first responders and ordinary citizens, who unselfishly risked their lives to save others.

A Harris County Deputy Sheriff carried two children, one in each arm, as he waded through waist-high murky brown water to take them to safety.  Houston SWAT officer Daryl Hudeck reached a 13-month-old boy and his mom in the nick-of-time as water gushed through their home.

The Cajun Navy, a rag-tag band of good Samaritans from neighboring Louisiana,  arrived in the city's darkest hour with a flotilla of small watercraft to assist with evacuations.  This citizen armada rescued hundreds in driving rain and gusty wind conditions ignoring their own safety.

The volunteers went neighbor-by-neighborhood in their hunting and fishing boats plucking Houstonians from their water-logged homes. Louisiana's governor threw in with his citizens, dispatching search-and-rescue teams from the state's Department of Wildlife and Fisheries.

Other states joined in the effort as well as the U.S. Coast Guard, now attached to the Department of Homeland Security.  Coast Guard helicopters hovered over flooded homes and businesses, rescuing dozens of citizens from rooftops and second stories.  The dramatic rescues captured the nation.

Ordinary Joe's unattached to any organization just showed up with their boats and high-water trucks. An African-American man told television reporters he was "gonna try to save some lives."  He ignored the danger of flood waters to help stranded homeowners and drivers stuck in their vehicles.

David and Lizzie Cue opened their home to a couple and their children after the flood waters claimed the family's residence in one of the hardest hit neighborhoods.  Mary and Robert Hall welcomed Houston relatives who were victimized by the flood even as surging waters threatened their home.

Churches, schools and even some businesses took in thousands of displaced Houstonians whose homes were no longer habitable.  A mattress and furniture businessman dispatched his delivery trucks to pick up storm stragglers.  He allowed the victims to sleep in his two stores and fed them, too.

This was America at its finest.  Neighbors helping neighbors.  Strangers extending a hand to those in dire need.  Race didn't matter.  Neither did ethnicity nor immigration status. In these tense moments, no fights broke out.  No one called another person a hateful name.

What happened in Houston stands in stark contrast to the ugly confrontation in Charolettesville more than a month ago. There evil hooligans engaged in fisticuffs after protests turned violent.  The thugs represented an infinitesimal minority of Americans, but you wouldn't know it by the media coverage.

This is why no one trusts the news media. Reporters and editors are always looking for the worst in America to serve up on the evening news.  But that isn't the real America.  Houston proved once again that the overwhelming majority of Americans are giving, loving, caring people.

That may be news to the media but not to everyday Americans.