Sam Frank calls our attention to a 1999 Yale Herald editorial by Ned Andrews (above, right) , whom Sam says “passed out at a newspaper party once and we put stuff on his face.”

Ever since the days of Sir Walter Raleigh, June through October has been “hurricane season” for the residents of the Southeast. Far more recently, however, another pattern has developed. As the media belabors each storm, it raises to national consciousness the damage done to coastal communities, and the government in its self-righteous, exhibitionist “compassion” is always there to pick up the pieces. The only piece still missing from the puzzle is logic.

As victims clamor for relief from something they “had no idea was going to happen,” our response should be, “Well, you should have.” These people know the risks they are taking by choosing to live where they do. Like a certain other natural phenomenon, hurricanes happen, and they’re about as predictable. Not only do we have a name for “hurricane season,” it lasts five months out of the year. When there isn’t one on top of you, there’s another brewing off the coast of the Antilles. Moving into or translocating within the region should be viewed as a conscious and voluntary consent to any natural disasters that might occur there. For those who have some reason to stay, such as an attachment to relatives or to a job, they must decide whether it’s worth it. If it is, they should be willing to pay the price.

If you stop hurricane relief aid, residents of coastal areas will have no choice but to leave like they should have long ago. Once these areas are vacated, aid won’t be necessary and people will start taking responsibility for their own behavior. As it stands now, every hurricane covered by the government serves to reinforce this addictive behavior, and the vicious cycle of dependency on taxpayer aid grows worse.

Sam and Jim Laasko offer another example of deep thinking, this time with a contemporary tragedy in mind.