Three Little Words: We Moved On

Barack Obama delivered a rousing didn't-I-almost-win speech Tuesday night in New Hampshire, and John McCain delivered a stirring I'm-the-comeback-don't-call-me-kid address on the occasion of his victory. What they, and all the other candidates in the first primary in the nation, had in common was one thing: they were totally, utterly, stunningly (to this observer) dedicated to ignoring the greatest disaster to befall an American city in modern times. What is there for a presidential candidate to say two and a half years after the levees breached and flooded New Orleans? Well, judging by this piece in the New Orleans alternative weekly Gambit, the US Army Corps of Engineers, which built the defective structures and is responsible for planning the improved ones, is still letting the community down--in this case, missing a deadline for submission to Congress of its report on a system to afford protection against Cat 5 storms. A theoretical candidate could offer to repair the city's breached faith in its nation, to re-think the way great public works in this country are designed and built, to commit to a program of infrastructure repairs before more levees beach and more bridges collapse.

I was in New Orleans the first week of this year, and, as the city shook off its sudden attack of Arctic air and welcomed the second consecutive Big Game crowd in a week, as the French Quarter filled with so many visitors in purple (for LSU) and red (for Ohio State) that Regina, my friend who co-owns a restaurant, said "It looks like New Orleans again", it was possible to do the post-K squint and believe that everything was okay. That squint, which entails just looking at the grass-roots recovery and ignoring the affordable housing crisis just blocks away, is pretty convincing when the temperature is in the 70s, and Carnival season starts up just as the city gets a $200 million jolt from big events that, if you believe the Presidential Debate Commission, New Orleans isn't yet prepared to host.

The Times-Picayune reports on the chefs who moved away and couldn't stay away, and musician friends of mine are returning home, and Brad Pitt's Make It Right Foundation has apparently doubled its matching fund goals for building new green homes in the Lower Ninth Ward. So there are stories of hope and progress as well as of delay and betrayal in New Orleans. None of them worthy of a mention as candidates left and right outlined their visions for the future.

Obama's speech ended with a ringing evocation of three words he claimed were emblematic in the life of the nation: "Yes, We Can"; and the crowd joined in chanting those words in response. But, in their turning away from a "man-made engineering disaster" (in the words of UC Berkeley's Dr. Bob Bea), in their turning away from a city that was betrayed by its country twice--in the faulty construction of a "protective system" and in the refusal to follow the letter of the nation's own National Response Plan when that system failed--the candidates, Obama included, are paying silent tribute to the three words that more accurately describe America's contemporary approach to problems: We Moved On.

Comments

[JAUG]

I'm New Orleans. I'm afraid. What happens when another large/medium city falls prey to Mother Nature and the men who think they can tame her (btw Mother Nature doesn't give a rat's ass about humans!)
Will there be another Rush To Blame instead of a rush to recover? My local and state Democrats let me down, the leaders of my country let me down, the politicians of every state let me down, the religious let me down, my fellow citizens across America let me down - yup, ya'll did!! How would you feel if someone told you "yall shouldn't live there, yall are stupid for living below sea level" (like Bienville gave a crap when he founded New Orleans in the 1600's and don't get me started about San Fran being built on a trash heap on an active faultline!) Imagine how gobsmacked I was having to FIGHT for my right to rebuild my home and live where I want too (where is my America?) Yup EVERYBODY dropped this ball. (Except maybe the Salvation Army.)
Whites, blacks, middle class, poor, young, old - we all LOST (check your stats people - not just the majority of the population [blacks] of NOLA suffered!)

Who am I voting for, nada one of those lawyers, silver spooners, more money than god, righteous holier than thou, pretentious power mad, "2 party only" pimps. I'm writing in None of the Above and let yall people who know how to fix everything sort it out. I'm taking a 4 year vacation to Costa Rica. And if the gods are kind, my home may actually be repaired after the flood and hurricane damage.
May you schmucks never have to live through such a cataclysmic event in your lifetime.

[Rockyman]

The current gov't showed such incompetence in the aftermath of Katrina that they probably prefer that it didn't exist. Ineptitude was rampant. The needs there are localized and therefore it seems nobody wants to state how collectively we can help. The sad reality is that due to the wasteful war we are less likely to feel generous and offer the help we should. We haved moved on making it difficult for them to ever move back in.

[msfiskvletterman]

1/13/08
11:15pm
Alexandria, VA

I don't think we have "moved on" but, you know, it is not easy to hold some people accountable. They want to deny, deny, deny.

[fitCTmom]

Come on! Obama mentioned Katrina the other day and was lambasted for using the word "Katrina" as code for "black people" If he mentions Katrina he's race-baiting, if he doesn't mention Katrina he doesn't care. The guy can't win. BTW, the lack of response was not a racial one it was a socio-economic one. If they had been poor whites (ie in Apalacha) no one would care, not even the celebrities b/c that area of the country isn't celebrated like NO

[Mike5000]

The racist exploitation of post-Katrina New Orleans by hundreds of American corporations exemplifies all that is wrong with America, just as the outpouring of help and sympathy from millions of American people exemplifies all that is good.

Edwards is the only electable candidate who is standing up to the corporations that are looting America. We are proud that John Edwards chose New Orleans as the starting point for his journey to the White House.

[llozano]

We are headed for more disasters of the kind that devastated N.O. Just last week a levee broke in Nevada after some torrential rains. I don't know who built these but it goes to show that our infrastructure is in need of repair all over the country. In Los Angeles our freeways are so congested that even adding more lanes is not going to ease the traffic problems. Other major cities are in the same predicament. Our current system is just not working. Even when we have the money to repair and build it seems like we are just throwing good money after bad. Our cities keep growing out and that means more freeways and housing in areas that are not meant for human habitation and far away from where people work. The result: more congestion, more pollution more infrastructure in need of repair and no money to repair it. We need a comprehensive and forward looking plan of action instead of just reacting to problems or crisis once they happen.

[jabailo]

I think when Obama said "Yes, We Can" he was urging all Americans to be more like the late great Sammy Davis, Jr. whose autobiography, "Yes, I Can" inspired a generation.

http://www.amazon.com/Yes-Can-Story-Sammy-Davis/dp/0374522685

[OhPlease2007]

"the candidates, Obama included, are paying silent tribute to the three words that more accurately describe America's contemporary approach to problems: We Moved On."

Harry, your words ring ever so true. The politicians may have forgotten, but 'America' hasn't. Thank you very much for keeping the critical problems of the wonderful city of New Orleans at the forefront of the blogosphere.

'America' hasn't forgotten New Orleans, and it never will!

[groucho]

Edwards only has 2 delegates less than Obama and 4 less than Clinton. Why has he been written off? probably because he'd do something. I really am disappointed to hear he hasn't followed up in NO, if Harry says it I believe it.
New Orleans is one of the most wonderful cities in America. I saw what happened there and the fact that the horrors continue, makes me very hopeless about this country. Tazing citizens trying to save their homes in a most Democratic way, going to a City Council meeting, it just goes on and on. And it happened at Christmas, how calculatedly cruel was that?

[ellenliv]

While it's true that the candidates have hardly made Gulf Coast rebuilding a priority, at least some of them have visited New Orleans and attempted to formulate policy proposals for doing so. We did a post today about where all the major candidates stand; you can check it out at http://www.teachingthelevees.org/?p=121.

[BrooklynBookWorm]

The failure to address the needs of New Orleans is only the most egregious example of the refusal of all candidates in both parties to address urban issues. As a New Yorker, I'm stunned to note (as several local columnists have pointed out) that with New York-based candidates prominent in the Democratic (Clinton), Republican (Giuliani) and Wild Card (Bloomberg) fields, NOTHING has been said about urban issues -- housing, gang violence, transportation, education, et al.

The country clearly hates its great cities, and no candidate wants to disturb the status quo. I do envy the Parisians!

[drgrph]

Any people willing to re-elect Mayor Ray Nagin, who has Katrina blood on his hands, is not likely to draw a lot of sympathy. And as Tip O'Neill is quoted as saying, "All politics is local". In a HuffPo piece, Paul Lang interpreted this as "Change happens in your State House (or Assembly) and State Senate. It happens with your Governor."

Maybe once they try exhausting the local avenues then the Federal Government could be called in. But in view of our ever increasing deficit, I'm not sure where the money comes from. I suppose my children and grandchildren...just like we got stuck with the Social Security tab!
HARRY RESPONDS: Not defending Ray Nagin, but the city had nothing--zero--to do with the faulty design and construction of the levees whose breaching flooded New Orleans. That's a federal responsibility.

[jbone]

Harry & all,
No doubt there is plenty of blame to spread around but at this point, what good does it do the people of New Orleans to keep up with the blame debate? While I'm all for people being self-sufficent, this country owes the people of New Orleans more assistance than they have received. It does my heart good to read the posts on this thread, mostly all agreeing that New Orleans has gotten a raw deal. People in New Orleans will tell you that if New York, Boston, Philadelphia, LA, or San Francisco suffered such damage, it would have been rebuilt long before now. Why is that? I respectfully disagree when some say it's a form of racial discrimination or class discrimination. Like Harry points out, a very large number white folks suffered and the wealthy suffered too. Katrina didn't just destroy the lives and homes of the poor and minorities. No, I think it's a form of regional discrimination. New Orleans & Louisianna don't possess the political power in Washington necessary to force the issue. Washington doesn't care about those who have no power nor the ability to repay favors. One day New Orleans will be back. When that day comes, the people of New Orleans and Lousianna will not forget how they were treated by their country.

[lambdin1]

It is obvious to me that for most, if it is not in my back yard the hell with it! Katrina is a shame of the nation. The Republican party is at fault and most of the nation followed their lead. Out of sight and out of mind, the Katrina ravages, brought on by the Army Core of Engineers and their cronies, did not have to happen if people would have paid attention to what a lot of experts were saying. As for Obama he will do no better than Bush. He does not know where the levers of power are and how to use them! Move on New Orleans you will get precious little help from this nation. What a shame!!!

[CanSoc]

Well said, Mr. Shearer. New Orleans is a monument to malign neglect ante and post Katrina. Question - a number of commentators have predicted that the powers that be plan to turn the Big Easy into a smaller town geared entirely to tourism. I have visions of a Deep South, Cajun-flavoured, jazz-filled version of Niagara Falls, Canada without the falls. Can you (or any fellow readers) confirm this?
HARRY RESPONDS: There are several plans, the results of drawn-out public planning processes, sitting gathering dust right now. None of them call for what you describe, but that's been a persistent fear among some New Orleanians since the flood.