Nix Bits

There is an interesting and thought-provoking piece over at TPMCafe by Boyd Blundell about New Orleanians perception of their place in America. It brought to mind a discussion I had recently regarding whether or not the federal government has a moral obligation to the people of New Orleans and the Gulf Coast at large. This goes beyond the reality that the destruction in New Orleans was in fact caused by the failures of people in the service of the federal government and so there is a duty to clean up that mess. This gets into the core discussion about the role of the federal government and the expectations of Americans.

Since Katrina, many locals — both “liberal” and “conservative” (( I use quotes on these terms because this is how these individuals identify their political philosophies)) — are flying the fleur-di-lis flag and no other. Many New Orleans’ residents have developed a fierce sense of loyalty to their home that is inevitably tied to their dissolusionment with the continuing failures of the federal government to deal with the crisis. One of the most interesting things about Lolis Eric Elie’s editorial from the 5th of July was the lack of response letters published in the T-P; did locals agree with him and see no reason to reply? Others have reached a state of rage in their belief that New Orleans must embrace Sinn Fein and move on ourselves alone. While there is clear value in that and I feel we must move forward on the assumption that we will get no further help, it is hard to imagine that New Orleans and the Gulf Coast will be able to recover without substantial assistance.

From where the average New Orleanian is sitting, it galls us to watch billions of US dollars funnelled into Iraq while federal legislators question every dime that might be sent this way. Where is the sense of priorities? Where is the sense of obligation to people who actually pay taxes? The most common excuse given is the failures and poor quality of our local leaders as well as the culture of waste and corruption that “everyone knows” is so prevalent in Louisiana. Of course, Louisiana hasn’t exactly cornered the market on government waste.

America has always prided itself on a “pull yourself up by your own bootraps” mentality of rugged individualism. Couple this with human nature and the short attention span news cycle and it’s easy to understand why Katrina is no longer thought of by many as a national story. A discussion about the roots and nature of poverty, racism, and American cultural values does not exactly fit into your average 30 minute news cast. Yet these issues are precisely what the Katrina story raises and what Boyd’s article and Lolis’ editorial touches on.

For the most part, the sense of rage and helplessness that the poor feel is never given voice by the poor themselves. They lack the political standing (immigrants), or they lack the ability to articulate things in a way that others can understand. But in New Orleans there are now many who understand, as Lolis and Markus do, that American citizenship has no intrinsic benefits when you need a hand to help you up, especially if your situation is embarrassing to the rest of the nation. These people are intelligent and articulate, and are wondering what their citizenship means.

[tags]Katrina, New Orleans, We Are Not OK[/tags]