I invite you to peruse the following piece titled "Some Thoughts On Katrina and New Orleans", which I wrote during those terrible days. Reading it once again with the knowledge of an increase in poverty of ten million in the last nine years confirmed my deepest concerns. I'm curious as to your thoughts on what was so obvious then and the subsequent perpetuation of; increased poverty, wage stagnation, and the shrinking middle class.
Your comments are appreciated.
SOME THOUGHTS ON KATRINA AND NEW ORLEANS
PROLOGUE:
Was the outpouring of support and emotional response for the unfortunate victims of Katrina one of guilt or genuine compassion?
The ugly face of poverty long glossed over by the controlling political, business, and media factions of America has been revealed in a startling manner! “God works in mysterious ways was spectacularly evident the hours and days after the storm. Katrina, most will say was an “act of God”. Accepting this as fact then in reality what manifested following “The Act” indeed displayed His purpose.
RECONSTRUCTION AND EXPLOITATION
Yes, the sounds of Preservation Hall will be heard again, the street musicians and mimes will work the tourists, the trolley will clank its’ way along St. Charles Street, crawfish and Cajun delicacies will be devoured, and Mardi Gras may persist but will all of it be the same? Most likely not!
Engineering designers, architects, ambitious developers, and engaging entrepreneurs will rebuild the city and attempt to sell it as once again being a genuine part of American lore. Of course all the physical parts will be in place. Talented and ingenious workers will put in the replacement parts and restore the cherished landmarks. The “new” New Orleans will be designed and sold to give instant gratification but chances that it will provide lasting impressions are minimal!
How can you rebuild or re- capture the art and character of a city that took a significant period of time to evolve and grow from within? The “old” New Orleans was the result of a unique evolutionary process; a meld of Caribbean, French, Spanish, Anglo and African -American ethnicity. The process was allowed to flow freely and perpetuated by a fascination for life with very little restraint. Its’ woes and travails resulting from wars, corruption and exploitation were fully absorbed into the fabric of society to form a strength and vitality that sustained it for generations and respected throughout the world as a world class city with a flavorful taste of “la dolce vita”.
It would be an insult to the heritage of New Orleans to sell it as a commodity. The Crescent City was all about its’ people. The heart, soul and spirit of its’ inhabitants made New Orleans what it is. It should be revered and looked upon as a shining example of how diverse groups can contribute to a better society when free to do so. No Disneyland make-over can replace what evolved naturally for over two hundred fifty years. Re-build the city but please bar the hucksters and the carpetbaggers.
New Orleans earned its’ place among the world’s most venerable cities not only because it possesses unique cultural characteristics but essentially it maintained an identifiable attitude. However, the last part of the twentieth century was witness to an erosion of the “Big Easy” aura. The city, as the song about another renowned city goes,”was beginning to lose its’ charm” To use a parallel, just as Jazz in its’ evolutionary process had given way to the shallow and commercial forms of American music maybe New Orleans, long a vibrant city was following a similar path to a superficial form of what it once was, Perhaps this in itself was symptomatic of the fragility of its’ infrastructure, economic vulnerabilities and class disintegration.
Nevertheless, Katrina did expose for the world to see; the underbelly of our country on a grand scale, the existence of extreme poverty. The question posed to all, “could this probably be a microcosm of America”? You can be sure that these conditions came as a complete surprise to most Americans and shocked them beyond comprehension. They should not have been!
EPILOGUE
The American people must recognize that the problems we face, in addition to those caused by nature and foreign adversaries come from within. Greed, twisted ideologies, power struggles, arrogance and negligence are thriving in our little world and they affect each and every one of us.
Make no mistake the poverty exposed in Louisiana is not an aberration. These conditions exist in all of our cities large or small regardless of ethnicity.
Our country has remained steadfast for generations because we always had a large and confident middle class. The middle class shoulders the burden of securing the nation. It sustains the economy, ensures the order of society, protects the lower class, supports and empowers the government. This vital position in the hierarchy of societal structure, if maintained, prevents the emergence of a ruling and controlling class that has no constraints.
Amongst all of our checks and balances, the existence of a strong and viable middle class is imperative. To a free and independent people the middle class is of the utmost importance for national survival.
Alas, what has come to pass in recent years is the unfortunate deterioration of this all important segment of our economic existence. This condition is one of the main reasons for the rapidly increasing poverty levels. The process of a vanishing middle class is not a result of a certain set of occurrences that happened naturally. In fact it would be unnatural in a republic such as ours to not have a viable middle class. Perhaps it is one of design?
The gap is ever wider between the haves and have-not and threatens the quality of life for most Americans. The unfortunate victims of Katrina have been living with this fact for a long time and maybe, just maybe, their looks of anguish and voices of despair will awaken us all.
Note: There is no standard definition of “middle class”. According to the U.S. Census Bureau households of annual income between $25,000 and $75,000 occupy the middle half of income/population distribution levels. The year 2004 poverty level was 37million, up from 35.9 million in 2003. 2003 and 2004 experienced a combination of stagnant income and the fact that, while some middle class households moved to upper income groups, a much larger proportion moved down.
September 3, 2005
Note: There is no standard definition of “middle class”. According to the U.S. Census Bureau households of annual income between $25,000 and $75,000 occupy the middle half of income/population distribution levels. The year 2004 poverty level was 37million, up from 35.9 million in 2003. 2003 and 2004 experienced a combination of stagnant income and the fact that, while some middle class households moved to upper income groups, a much larger proportion moved down.
ReplyDeleteThe above definition of Middle Class in 2004 has dramatically changed in the last 7 years. The poverty level has also changed. What constitutes poverty today? Back 8-10 years ago the poverty level in dollars and cents was in the neighborhood of $22K. Today that position has increased almost 50% to $30K. What I see happening is the gap between poverty level and the term Middle Class is getting closer and closer each decade. Is this to become a "class-less" society. Relative to other countries on this earth, it is difficult to cry with a loaf of bread under your arm. I look back in my mind's eye and recall the images of New Orleans and remember seeing a natural disaster that showed the weakness of man's methods to protect a city doomed for distruction in the face of a historic hurricane. Today, the local, state and federal governments are still rebuilding this city. They can rebuild all they want but it will not correct the poverty situation there. It will persist and sometime in the future with another hurricane of a different name we will watch on our wide screen 3D televisions the plight of the poor people of New Orleans who forgot where sea level is.....AGAIN.