Life and Death in New Orleans

Let me begin by saying that despite my rather obvious political leanings, I take no joy from the failings of the administration. I wanted them to do well here, I wanted them to succeed, I wanted them to save New Orleans.

I hoped that a prepared and effective response would blunt nature's wrath for many reasons. The most basic of course was the fundamental human desire to avoid suffering and loss of life. The second was a fear, now realized, that the storm could produce an environmental catastrophe and severe economic disruption.

The third reason, though, was simple and essentially selfish. I love New Orleans and I did not want to see it washed away. I have only been there once, but the city is one of those uniquely American places that has a hold on even those who have never been there. Like New York, where we want to be a part of it, and San Francisco, where we leave our hearts, we always wanted to ride The City of New Orleans to this vibrant spot.

This city was in a way a "melting pot" before that term was generally applied to the country, but a truly unique pot it was. The various components, from all parts of Europe, Africa, the Caribbean and elsewhere, kept their unique identities while creating an urban culture like nowhere else. We know New Orleans from Mardi Gras and Anne Rice, from taking A Streetcar Named Desire, from football games to funerals both sad and joyous, from hearing Dixieland jazz and tasting gumbo and jambalaya. In a way, New Orleans felt like it belonged to all of us.

I remember walking down to Cafe DuMonde while the city that had been out too late the night before still slept. In this city of contrasts, around the corner from the garishness of Bourbon Street, you could find a tiny bookstore that would welcome you in to see and touch rare maps and manuscripts. Here a vibrant African-American culture emerged in the shadows of the slave market, and in St. Louis Cemetery #1, you could see the busy, urban city of the living rising above the whitewashed walls of the city of the dead. Now, so much of that is lost.

I do not expect the federal government to solve every problem and I realize that governments are made up of fallible human beings. Those human beings are charged with duties and responsibilities, and what we have seen in the last week is a gross dereliction of those duties that is criminal in its scope. At the head of the agency charged with emergency management, we have not a professional with emergency response experience but a political hack previously fired for mismanagement in heading up horse shows! And now, after failing to be both proactive and reactive, the administration chooses now to deflect criticism and blame others.

I had hoped for so much more.