In the Dec 11 editorial, Death of an American City, the NY Times begins:
"We are about to lose New Orleans. Whether it is a conscious plan to let the city rot until no one is willing to move back or honest paralysis over difficult questions, the moment is upon us when a major American city will die, leaving nothing but a few shells for tourists to visit like a museum.
We said this wouldn't happen. President Bush said it wouldn't happen. He stood in Jackson Square and said, "There is no way to imagine America without New Orleans." But it has been over three months since Hurricane Katrina struck and the city is in complete shambles.
There are many unanswered questions that will take years to work out, but one is make-or-break and needs to be dealt with immediately. It all boils down to the levee system. People will clear garbage, live in tents, work their fingers to the bone to reclaim homes and lives, but not if they don't believe they will be protected by more than patches to the same old system that failed during the deadly storm. Homeowners, businesses and insurance companies all need a commitment before they will stake their futures on the city.
At this moment the reconstruction is a rudderless ship."
Please see more of this perspective on tragedy, our tragedy, at NY Times/Opinion.
2 comments:
Just came back from an "economic pilgrimage" to NOLA. Good news is the Quarter is open, the beignets are hot, and there's no waiting for any restaurant that is actually open (maybe half of them).
Plenty of live music on Frenchman across Esplanade in the Marigny, including the delicious Hot Club of New Orleans. Not exactly Django and Stephan, but close enough.
Most of the Bourbon Street bars are open with the usual polyglot of cover bands. The majority of patrons are construction workers, though, hardly any college kids or tourists.
Hey, they need your presence and money to come back. Rooms are fairly plentiful and not too pricey, all things considered.
If you ever loved N'Awlins, now's a good time to go.
What an outstanding brief review, anon! You packed a lot of detail into a compact space.
Hope you will write for or post on SptBlog again.
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