Remember the movie Aliens when Ripley want to blow up the planet and the company guy says "no way" because it is too expensive? Ripley had the best comeback-- "They can bill me!"
This is probably a vague parallel but... it seems like a lot of stuff that hasn't happened has not happened because no one authorized it. Whether it's using the city buses to evacuate people or the bringing in of troops, it seems to have slipped through the cracks of someone else's job or no one told me.
Yet, I would guess that there were a lot of people out there who knew better or had a great idea or whatever and didn't do it because they didn't buck the chain of command. I'm not blaming here. Chain of command exists for a reason... it's just I miss that "They can bill me" spirit that sometimes needs to take place to get the job done. Is it just me? Am I out to lunch?
I know it's unrealistic for the National Guard to say, "we're just gonna march in because it's obvious we're needed and oddly enough no one has called..." That is pretty much looking like a military uprising. And an industrious bus driver who ferried people out of the area on a city bus without permission would likely end up doing time....
Okay... I was living in a fantasy for a moment...
Ok, I'm starting out with no links to back me up so be patient. I could dig them up but am working on my math class and am after putting out an idea not a thesis. Mainly, it's just an impression I have from half way across the world, looking at the news and varioius sites and blogs.