Joseph Sabino Mistick: United when disaster strikes

As the nation became aware of the devastation caused by last week’s tornadoes, we were reminded once again what the word “united” means in the United States of America.

Cutting across nine states — Alabama, Arkansas, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Mississippi, Missouri, Ohio and Tennessee — there were at least 44 reported tornadoes and one that stayed on the ground for over 200 miles. By the middle of this week, 88 deaths were reported, with most of them in Kentucky, which took the brunt of these storms.

In the hours after the disaster, President Biden directed federal agencies to begin sending help. He spoke with Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear to coordinate relief and told FEMA to “surge federal resources.” And Biden visited the devastated communities later in the week and said that the federal government will pay for all disaster-related work for the next 30 days.

“It includes debris removal, cost of overtime for law enforcement and emergency service personnel and shelter, and that will get you through,” he said. “I intend to do whatever it takes as long as it takes.”

This had nothing to do with politics because tornadoes and conflagration and hurricanes and floods are not Republican or Democratic. Kentucky Republican and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell once said, “One hundred percent of my focus is standing up to this administration.” But he had high praise for Biden and his administration now.

“President Biden cut through the red tape to approve our request at an accelerated pace, providing the rapid support we need to recover,” he said. “I could not be more grateful for their swift and decisive response to this crisis.”

If your only view of America comes from cable news shows or congressional debates or the video of the insurrectionists as they attacked our Capitol, you might struggle to believe that Americans are a generous and loving people. But when disaster strikes — when our people are at their lowest and need help — we pull together.

That is why states belong to nations. Richer states subsidize poorer states, and those states that are spared natural disasters help those that fall victim. Whether it’s the economy, public education, social services or defense against foreign enemies, there is not one state that can make it on its own, despite what some cardboard secessionists say.

And when a disaster strikes home, even a cold-eyed skeptic becomes a believer in nationhood. Rand Paul, Kentucky’s other Republican senator, voted against disaster aid for the northeast after Hurricane Sandy, and he voted no on disaster aid after hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria in 2017.

According to Salon, Paul once accused former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie of having a “gimme, gimme, gimme” attitude for seeking federal help for his state. And he mocked those senators who supported disaster aid for Puerto Rico, Texas and Florida for having “great compassion with somebody else’s money.”

But now Paul wants federal funding — somebody else’s money — for Kentucky. Citing the governor’s request for help, Paul wrote Biden, saying, “I fully support those requests and ask that you move expeditiously to approve the appropriate resources.”

Maybe it’s sad that it takes a disaster, but even if it’s just for a while, it’s good to feel how great we can be when we are united.