Dear Editor,
Even though regarded by historians as popular legend, in 64 AD, while a great fire ravaged the city of Rome for six days, the Emperor Nero allegedly played his ‘fiddle’ thus revealing a total lack of concern for his people and his empire. I surmise this report of Nero’s disdainful behavior has stood the test of time because it conjures up such portentous imagery.
By comparison, when on August 13, while vacationing in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, President Biden, when asked if there was anything he wished to say about the rising death toll in Hawaii from the catastrophic wildfires, responded, “No comment”. That appearance of disregard for others will not be remembered as so historically significant as Nero’s.
Nevertheless, critics hammered the president’s response, calling it embarrassing and indicating that some acknowledgement of this national tragedy was warranted. Perhaps that critical commentary is what prompted President Biden, along with his wife, to leave Lake Tahoe, Nevada, where they were vacationing and fly on August 21 to Maui to observe the devastation.
The August 8 wildfires had reduced the historic town of Lahaina almost completely to ash. More than 115 people are known to have died. Over 1000 remain unaccounted for and may never be identified. With wildfires still ablaze in the island’s more eastern upcountry, the president spent six hours inspecting Lahaina’s destruction and talking with the people of Maui before his departure.
Assuming the role of consoler-in-chief, President Biden spoke to a crowd of wildfire survivors and families of the missing gathered at the Lahaina Civic Center. “I don’t want to compare difficulties, but we have a little sense, Jill and I, what it’s like to lose a home. Years ago – now 15 years ago… lightning struck at home on a little lake outside of our home…To make a long story short, I almost lost my wife, my 67 Corvette, and my cat.” To call that response a mischaracterization seems generous since a 2004 Associated Press report described the incident as “a small fire contained to the kitchen”, which was under control in 20 minutes.
President Biden seems to have a propensity to compare apples and oranges. He may have a tendency to conflate self-centeredness and empathy. Albeit Joe Biden is POTUS, but often he demonstrates an excessive need for admiration and appears self-absorbed which can result in a disregard for the feelings of others. In being equitable, I have to ask, have others, who seek the presidency, displayed similar traits?
To his credit, before returning to Lake Tahoe, President Biden was quoted as saying, “when things look the most bleak, that’s when we need faith.” Earlier, Biden had promised that Lahaina would be rebuilt “the way the people of Maui want to build.”
Peter Wibell Rutledge