New Orleans. Thoughts of that town once brought forth visions of jazz clubs, Mardi Gras, Creole cooking, and laid back southern living. A very eclectic atmosphere of an unhurried lifestyle that could be found only in the Big Easy. It also reminded me of mean streets that lurked behind the party atmosphere of the French Quarter.
Since the destructive winds and flood waters that is Katrina’s legacy, we only see the mean streets part, along with the ugliness of opportunistic greed that humans bear onto one another.
Federal and state governments have put in place a network of aid organizations to assist any member of our society who has befallen the ravages of nature. Americans, out of the goodness of their hearts, freely volunteer their time, money and themselves to help cleanup after natures blind rampages.
After the initial shock of natures fury has worn off, after the volunteers have gone back to their own lives (as they must), after all of the glorious, self-indulgent political speeches are given about how we always come together in our countries moment of need, New Orleans sits with its piles of putrid rubbish, it’s broken down homes and ruined lives. After all of this, the promises have all slowly diminished into memories. This is when we see the true worth and the true value of our government agencies and the private enterprises designed to be the safety nets after such disasters. This is when humans fail each other.
The biggest offenders, in the private arena, are insurance companies. They sell you policies that promise to help you put your life back together after a disaster has struck. They say so in every advertisement they put in front of the public. But when a disaster strikes, their lawyers step in and cite all of the loopholes for reasons to not help you put your life back together. They argue, the wording was there in black and white when you signed the contract. Of course, they word it all so you easily get confused trying to decipher it, but, it is true, the wording was there when you signed it.
The second biggest offenders are contractors. Humans have come up with ingenious ways of screwing disaster victims out of their money. When a person is down and desperately needs help is the perfect time for these low-life thieves to come knocking. And they do by the thousands. They demand contracts be signed, they demand money up front, they drag their feet getting the work done, if they do it at all. Some do very shoddy work with substandard materials and the home owner is once again left with an even bigger mess when their work inevitably falls apart.
That government network of aid organizations looks good on paper. But they are managed by humans. Once again we get to see petty jealousy and graft at work. Money that is promised at the top is whittled down on its way to the people who really need it. Money is stolen by people pretending to be in need. When what is left of the money does finally get to the needy, bureaucrats tie it up at the local level by fighting over how to best spend it.
This is not a very glowing treatise of humanity. It sickens me that we put up this flowery show of how much we care, because deep down we know we are supposed to, and when an opportunity presents itself to ‘misdirect’ the money or back out of the promise, we jump on it. We go through the motions of showing we care by setting up legal avenues of funneling financial help to where it is needed. But somewhere along the way we have begun to put ourselves ahead of all others. Suddenly, our humanity to our fellow man has taken a dreadful demoralizing downturn. We can justify our actions by rationalizing that we have been slighted in some way by our government and therefore, while there is a chance of not being caught, we take the money for ourselves. We begin buying into the rationalization that if someone is willing to trust me with their money then that is their fault, I’m going to take as much as I can because I deserve it.
New Orleans is trying to rebuild itself. It is trying to rebuild itself into the image that all of us remember New Orleans to be. The saying that comes to mind is ‘You can never go back’. That old, residential New Orleans is a memory, one that needs to be updated. The downtown New Orleans, the French Quarter was not damaged as badly and can be rebuilt.
The blueprint being released Friday by city Recovery Director Ed Blakely is not as grand as the plan that was issued in March. Our grandiose plans seldom ever work out once they meet the reality of expense. Under this new, downsized plan, work would begin in the next few years on green space, health clinics, community centers, housing and libraries. Shopping centers would be redeveloped and streetscapes and storefronts spruced up. Even this more modest plan requires a very large outlay of money. Money that was promised by the federal government. Money that should actually be given to New Orleans, since it was promised, and not used to line the pockets of every politician that gets near it. Money that should be wisely spent. Money that we all know will end up paying unscrupulous contractors outrageous fees.
Lets try to show the world that community pride truly does exist. Try to prove to people like me that you can work towards the grand goal of putting New Orleans back together without further ripping off the unfortunate victims of this natural disaster. Don’t follow in the footsteps of the insurance companies and the politicians.
No comments:
Post a Comment