Friday, September 02, 2005
Yes, We're Worth It
From The Times-Picayune
Even as people from New Orleans desperately search for their family
members and rescue workers patrol the region in boats, hack through roofs and try to pluck survivors out, some people in other parts of the country have begun to blame us, the victims. Our crime? Choosing to live in New Orleans.
Especially heartless were U.S. House Speaker Dennis Hastert and the writers of an editorial that appeared Wednesday in the Republican-American, a newspaper in Waterbury, Conn. Mr. Hastert was quoted by the Daily Herald of Arlington Heights, Ill., saying it makes no sense to rebuild New Orleans where it is. "It looks like a lot of that place could be bulldozed," he said.
The Republican-American's headline asks, "Is New Orleans worth
reclaiming?" The editorial depicts our city and our people as a drain on federal coffers, and if you read it you might get the impression that New Orleans has never contributed to the economic vitality of this country. It maligns the city and our people as if we're nothing more than outstretched palms waiting for FEMA grants that only they fund.
How dare they?
After Mr. Hastert made his insensitive comments, his press secretary
tried to spin them. The speaker didn't mean that there shouldn't be a New Orleans, the spokesperson said. He was just suggesting that as they rebuild, officials give serious thought to how future destruction could be prevented. That goes without saying. We're much more sophisticated now than we were when the city was founded in the 18th century. Of course our officials are going to rebuild in such a way that reduces the threat of future devastation.
At least President Bush realizes how valuable we are. He flew over the storm-ravaged areas of Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama on Wednesday afternoon and seems sincerely sorrowful for all the people whose lives have been irreversibly changed by this storm. His promise to send aid, and lots of it, was encouraging. It's going to take a huge amount of money to rebuild New Orleans and a similarly large amount of assistance to sustain the hundreds of thousands of people who have been displaced.
Joe Riley knows it, too. As the mayor of Charleston, S.C., a coastal city that was torn apart by Hurricane Hugo in 1989, Mr. Riley not only is sympathetic to our plight, he defends our right, our need, to exist. When an interviewer for National Public Radio asked him, "Should there be a city where New Orleans is?" he said, "Of course, of course. Venice should always be Venice.
And New Orleans always New Orleans. They'll make the levees bigger, and they'll make them stronger so this never happens again. But this city, so important to our country, of course it should always be there."
Surely the folks in Waterbury would want their city rebuilt if a natural disaster destroyed it, just as Rep. Hastert would demand that Chicago be given the same consideration. They ought to show compassion and respect for those of us down here who will be struggling for quite some time to piece together our lives.
President Bush is promising aid. The sooner we get it, the better. One thing is certain: We will rebuild. New Orleans is worth it. So are the people who call it home.
