Even though President Obama was busy vacationing on Martha’s Vineyard as Louisiana suffered its worst flooding in decades, his ability to find any opportunity to divide our nation along racial lines and to display a level of cynical contempt for the American people was on full display.

IJR pointed out some warnings in a letter sent by his Administration to local governments involved in the relief effort (rather than golfing and sunning themselves on an exclusive beach) that residents in the Bayou State took great exception:

“Care must be taken to ensure that actions, both intentional and unintentional, do not exclude groups of people based on race, color, national origin (including limited English proficiency), religion, sex, or disability.” “Those planning for Katrina appeared to assume most people could rely on personal vehicles to evacuate and failed to consider the transportation needs of all segments of the population.” “Many seeking temporary housing immediately encountered discriminatory advertisements that explicitly refused to rent to African Americans.”

Considering the truly American displays of unity and fellowship we’ve seen as a result of the flooding relief effort, the preemptive warning against racial discrimination really touched a raw nerve with many Louisianans. That reaction has been brilliantly summed up in a Facebook post by a man named Ben Husser who has been working with his neighbors in the relief effort:

Dear Mr President, I want to thank you for reminding us in South Louisiana not to discriminate against anyone based on race or religion. Had you not reminded us of this I don’t know what we would have done. See we rode around in a boat saving people and well race or religion never entered my mind. Not once. It didn’t enter my buddies mind or my wife’s. Just saving people. I understand you may be miss informed because of all the race baiting that the media did a couple months ago here is South Louisiana. But I assure you that’s not what we stand for in South Louisiana. We love each other when the times get hard. We look out for our own. Now I know this doesn’t fit your agenda. But facts are facts. O and by the way stay up in DC play a little golf and enjoy your last couple months in office. Make sure you clean out your desk. Clean out the house you’ve occupied for 8 years cause your time is up. Let ya buddy Ms Clinton know we don’t need her either. She needs her rest. Lord knows she needs rest more then the residents of South Louisiana do. She may could put some of that Clinton foundation blood money to good use down here helping others. But why would she do that. She already knows Louisiana doesn’t belong to her come November. If this was a state she needed she would have been on the boat with me. But that’s OK we got this we are strong here in Louisiana. Something you will never understand. Thanks

The true citizens of Louisiana

It really does seem like (as Sen. John Edwards would say) there are two Americas. But not divided along racial or economic lines as Edwards meant when he coined that phrase for his own divisive political purposes. No, the two Americas are represented here by Mr. Husser and by President Obama.

Husser shows the true American spirit of community and patriotism that swells from within each of us and is displayed through our actions organically, within our hearts and in our neighborhoods, not via a directive from the federal government in Washington DC.

Meanwhile, President Obama’s admonishments and warnings suggest a cynical and negative view of American which immediately leaps to an assumption that challenges like the flooding in Louisiana bring out the very worst in us, rather than the best.

Mr. Hussers’ post has already been shared over 65 thousand times and it deserves to go viral.