Two years ago today the levees broke. The levees which were built to protect New Orleans from flooding failed, and New Orleans drowned. Remember there were two events, Katrina and the levee breaches. The levee breaches were not a natural disaster.
From Paul Krugman (behind the wall at TimesSelect) in the New York Times:
Two years ago today, Americans watched in horror as a great city drowned, and wondered what had happened to their country. Where was FEMA? Where was the National Guard? Why wasn’t the government of the world’s richest, most powerful nation coming to the aid of its own citizens?
Leave it to Krugman to say it so well.
Future historians will, without doubt, see Katrina as a turning point. The question is whether it will be seen as the moment when America remembered the importance of good government, or the moment when neglect and obliviousness to the needs of others became the new American way.
Do read the whole column if you can.
Mimi,
ReplyDeleteYou are far closer to the situation there than I am in Southern California, but from what I can read and hear it seems like many of the problems, particularly after the water finally receded, we inflicted by incompetent local government and indifferent state government.
I agree with you completely about Bush and FEMA. What are your thoughts about the mayor, your legislature, and your governor in this?
John, you are correct in that every level of government failed the people of New Orleans, federal, state, and city. There was corruption and incompetence from top to bottom.
ReplyDeleteIn addition, nearly half of the Louisiana National Guard, along with their equipment, was deployed in Iraq. That hampered rescue efforts. What is the National Guard for but to guard the homefront and assist in disasters here at home?
Having said all that, and acknowledged failures at the state and city level, the disaster was simply too massive for the city and state to handle without federal help.
If the media could be at the Superdome and the Convention Center and on the bridge where people were stranded, why couldn't the helpers be there with food and water and assistance. That was where I saw the real dissonance.
" ... if ... why couldn't helpers be there also?" Very good question. Krugman states it well... " The question is whether it will be seen as the moment when America remembered the importance of good government, or the moment when neglect and obliviousness to the needs of others became the new American way." And, against all evidence to the contrary, I'm praying that it's the former.
ReplyDeleteGrandmere mimi-- I left a comment this morning on a different post, but I just checked, and it's not there. Oh blogger, how bad you are! Here is the comment I left (I made a copy of it, just in case):
ReplyDeleteIt remains an outrage that New Orleans is left to suffer and not be rebuilt. Katrina gave the whole country insight to the workings of this administration, but at a terrible cost to a state, a city, and a struggling population.
Serena, I have asked the question often and never yet received a satisfactory answer as to how the media could get there, but help could not.
ReplyDeleteHi Robin Andrea, welcome. Another outrage to add to the list for those of us who suffer from outrage fatigue.
If you had not suggested that I write about my experience, I may not have done so. Thank you.
Krugman is so often spot on with his analysis. I can't tell which direction we are headed yet. Sometimes it seems we are starting to value "good government" but if that is the case, why is New Orleans not getting the help it needs? Do we really not care, or have we convinced ourselves that we can't do anything about it (politically)?
ReplyDeleteDiane, at this point, I'm not sure that a sufficient number of people care enough to make good government happen.
ReplyDeleteI know. Pessimist.
Mimi, I'm one of the people who watched the news coverage of the Superdome and the whole horror, and my outrage grew as the death toll did. And watching Mr. Brown say he'd just become aware of the situation days later. I still feel that outrage. I don't what to do but vote the bastards out. I hope enough people remain enraged enough to do it.
ReplyDeleteWe'll never know how many perished, at least until after the current regime is gone.
Pat, I remember when they called off the search for bodies, although they had addresses where some of those missing were said to have been. And the odor of corpses was still in the air.
ReplyDeleteLater, when folks could get to the houses of family members, they found their decomposing bodies right where they said they were. No one had picked them up. Imagine the horror.