As Hurricane Harvey barreled toward Houston, Mayor Sylvester Turner said to do one thing. Texas Gov. Gregg Abbott said to do another.

These dueling edicts apparently caused confusion and fueled the controversy de jour.

I’m just over here wondering why rational people depend on politicians to tell them what to do when faced with an impending disaster.

As the Hurricane approached the Texas coast, the governor seemed to call for an evacuation. But Mayor Turner said people in Houston should stay put, fearing gridlock on area highways. To hear the media tell it, the conflicting messages sent millions of Houston residents into vapor lock and they didn’t know what to do.

Here’s a question: what qualifies Gregg Abbott or Sylvester Turner to decide whether somebody should evacuate or stay put? They got their jobs based solely on their ability to convince a plurality of people to cast a vote for them. This doesn’t mean they have some great wisdom, or super-intelligence, or even the ability to predict the strength of a storm. It only indicates they’re really good salesmen. With all due respect to salespeople, I’m not so sure they’re the ones to make decisions on my behalf.

In all seriousness, have we really gotten to the point in our society that people can’t make a potentially life-or-death decision without input from politicians? Have we become so dependent on government that we literally need it to direct our every action? To tell us where to go. To tell us what to do? Can we not figure out whether or not we should get out of the way of a major hurricane?

God gave us brains so we can think, reason and make decisions. He didn’t install rings in our noses so other people can lead us around. It’s fine to seek counsel from others, but depending on “officials” to guide your decision-making sets you up for failure. They don’t know you. They don’t know your situation. They don’t whether your home is subject to flooding, or wind damage.

They don’t know.

You do.

For heavens sake, think for yourself and act appropriately. Don’t wait for some politician sitting in an office miles away to tell you what you should or shouldn’t  do.

And quite frankly, these people don’t have a very good track record.

Have you ever noticed that that after every natural disaster, we hear countless reports about how government failed in some way? I remember after Hurricane Katrina, the big brouhaha was about buses that went unused. It’s always something. You see news reports about slow response, or insufficient preparedness, or rickety infrastructure. After the crisis, officials wring their hands, play the blame game, and swear next time will be different. After the politicos and media make whatever political hay they can out of the situation, things go back to normal. Then the next disaster rolls in and the process repeats.

Here’s a thought. Maybe. Just maybe we should quit putting our faith in these people.