Where did we lose our way? The aftermath of Hurricane Katrina has brought grief, sadness, trauma, parents separated from children. Children miss their homes, their friends, their schools, their pets. People lost their most-treasured pictures of their families. They have nowhere to go to retrieve memories.

The president’s mother, Barbara Bush, evidentially thinks that will be a good thing for those victims, because most were poor anyway and they will now have a chance to move on; that they will be better off than they were.

According to that way of thinking, perhaps we would all be happier to leave our modest homes surrounded by family, friends, schools and churches. Why not just evacuate everyone to some strange place. Give each family $2,000 and make them depend on the Federal Emergency Management Agency to take care of them.

Barbara Bush, and her son, just don’t understand.

Katherine Lawler, Mexico