I've been trying for a few days now to put my thoughts down on paper. Each time has proved too chaotic to do so. Thousands of thoughts run into one another inside my head...nothing unusual about that for me. I love to write, so translating thoughts to paper has never been all that hard for me. This time, however, they don't make sense. I'm dealing with unprecedented emotions. My family is safe, but spread across three states. I guess the uncertainty of knowing how/when I will see them again is more powerful than I had imagined. I don't know how to feel. It's like having your heart broken for the first time. You don't know when the pain will end, and worse, you don't have the slightest inclination of how to get rid of it. I've never had a child, but I'd imagine it's the extreme opposite of that joy. I've come to appreciate the innocence of children even more in the past five days. There are currently five children staying with us all under the age of nine. They have no idea what is really going on or the magnitude of it. It's absolutely wonderful to watch them play without a care in the world. I envy them. My 2.5 year old niece, Sarah, has so much personality that she can light up a room with her unknowing cuteness. It's little smiles like that which add up to pieces of happiness in times like these.
I'm fortunate to have heeded the warning of my leaders to leave town, but I wonder if my emotions would be different if I could see the devastation first-hand. The national news coverage was good at first, but now they are looking for stories so they are focusing on the bad. FOX, CNN, MSNBC, etc. They are all the same. I know they have to make money, but the people of New Orleans and Mississippi are relying on them for accurate information. We are able to hear WWL 870 AM all the way out in Livingston, Texas (after 730) and they are reporting actual stories and giving real, useful information. The WWL-TV blog is great too. The national news is failing at that for some reason.
Someone else that is failing in my opinion are the leaders of the state and of the federal government. Our Governor better wake up fast and realize that action needs to be taken and that people will hit survival mode. Desperate times call for desperate measures. She waited to enforce martial law, now looters and violence are beginning to set into place. I can't believe that she thought everything would just 'get along.' The federal government is to blame too. We have a chance to completely revamp the city of New Orleans. The main parts of downtown and the French Quarter will survive, so we have something to build on. Get the damn military in here ASAFP!! If we sent aid to another country or invaded another country, God knows we'd have the full force going over there. It's our country, so do it. I appreciate the National Guard, but they have families here they need to take care of as well and do not have the manpower of the military. Use martial law with local sheriffs and Marines. Setup a base-camp in the middle of fucking Canal Street and get this city cleaned up! The federal government was already helping with that by going after corrupt politicians in this state...namely the Morial family and Congressman Jefferson.
The silver lining in this whole situation is that New Orleans had many problems. We have a unique opportunity to completely start with a clean slate. New Orleans East was an eyesore and a waste of land because of that...redevelop it. The public housing projects needed a makeover...redevelop them in the right areas. The Louisiana Superdome needed a face lift or to be demolished...do it. The interstate system has been very tardy in being updated...fix it. The medical district is one of the best in the country, but the surrounding areas make it look like the worst...clean it up. The racism white v. black and more importantly black v. black (80% of the population is black) was deplorable...work together. The school board was wrecked and bankrupt beyond belief...fix it and give people a choice of public and private once more. The city, as a whole, worked in sections and failed many times to improve (which is a microcosm of the state) itself watching places like Atlanta and Houston pass us right by...compromise. Do we have real leaders that can make real decisions out there? New Orleans was once a great place not only to visit but to live. This will be in history books one day as one of the biggest tragedies in U.S. history. Let's make the end result one of the greatest successes in U.S. history. Force business, political and military institutions to one day use us as one of the prime examples of how to rebuild a proud city. This is no time for fakes. If you are, then step out of the way. Leaders (Nagin, Landrieu, Lee, Jindal, Vitter and the community) make it happen!
Since you've posted a TrackBack on this article to my blog, shouldn't there be a reference back to me from here?
Posted by: OzarkLad | September 01, 2005 at 07:57 PM
This is a really good write. I think it speaks true and has great points of view. Nice Job!!
Posted by: Cole | September 02, 2005 at 05:55 PM
wassup new orleans is awsome you guys rule katrina sucks
Posted by: frank the tis-ank | November 09, 2005 at 02:35 PM
wassup new orleans is awsome you guys rule katrina sucks
Posted by: frank the tis-ank | November 09, 2005 at 02:35 PM
wassup new orleans is awsome you guys rule katrina sucks
Posted by: frank the tis-ank | November 09, 2005 at 02:37 PM