Everyone Needs to Work

In an article entitled "US Must Step Up Aid for New Orleans" by Happy Johnson, a junior at GeorgeTown University, (http://www.thehoya.com/viewpoint/021406/view5.cfm ), you'll read: "As members of a community with vast resources, if each of us did a little part to make a small but significant difference, then so much could be done."

This is an interesting article with some common-sense statements. But what is the most important word in that sentence?

Community.

Everyone affected by this disaster is part of a community. A community cannot survive without everyone doing their part to contribute. Anyone that wishes to be a member of any community must take responsibility for the privilege of being part of that community.

I feel deeply compassionate for the less fortunate who suffered the loss of what little they may have had. And I support charitable contributions to help them get back on their feet.

But this happened to ALL of us. I also feel deeply compassionate for the wealthy and privileged people.

But every bite of food someone eats, every article of clothing they wear, every car they drive and every place they live, is a result of someone's efforts. So charitable effort without any responsibility should be kept to a minimum. We can all chip in to do what we can to get everyone back into a position where they can work again.

But everyone needs to work.

I don't have sympathy for people who intend to spend month after month, until the handouts end, subsisting on the efforts of others. Every dollar FEMA or the Red Cross, or any other of a huge number of organizations gives to someone, was earned by someone else. When I see thousands of people living in trailer parks, in the homes of others, and in hotels, walking and driving around in new clothes and not making efforts to take care of themselves, I'm not sympathetic to their plight. When I'm in New Orleans and see thousands of jobs available to business owners desparate for workers and willing to pay higher wages than anyone ever saw in that city, I'm not sympathetic to the plight of the able-bodied people who are subsisting off of tax dollars earned by other people and ignoring the availability of jobs. I paid in some of that tax money that FEMA gave them, and I expect them to show responsibility for what they do with it.

If I were King Of The World, I'd decree that all temporary housing and accomodations must have access to jobs (whether it's proximity or transportation), and that anyone who availed themselves of any of that housing MUST work. And if you don't work, you don't get any help from the government. FEMA checks should be imprinted with "Acceptance of this money is contingent on acceptance of your choice of one of the 200,000 jobs listed in the attached document."

To me that sounds not only like common sense, but it's also the natural order of any community. Every element of any type of community in the animal or plant world has its purpose. And any element of those communities who doesn't serve it's purpose ends up not being part of that community in one way or another. Except for human beings. We have for too long supported a lazy segment of our population, and they've begun to act as though they deserve it.

It's six months after the hurricane. Those of you who lost your hotel rooms have recourse. Support yourselves in some way. Go get one of the thousands of jobs available. You can find a place to live and you can find an income. You don't deserve any more or any less than the rest of us deserve.

What do we deserve? A chance. That's all. We deserve a chance to take care of ourselves. Nobody willed this disaster on any of us. People of all socio-economic segments of life suffered losses. Those with more resources are bouncing back more quickly. That's just the nature of things. But everyone affected by this disaster HAS a chance to take care of themselves. That chance is in the form of working to rebuild the Gulf Coast. There's a lot of work, people. Get busy.

Mardi Gras Marathon

Read this article by Associate Press Writer DEVLIN BARRETT, who was a participant in the Mardi Gras Marathon in New Orleans Sunday, February 5, 2006. His reactions are very well written.

Mardi Gras Marathon Puts Its Best Foot Forward

Are Things Getting Back to Normal?

I've been asked that question many times by people from other areas. It's natural for people who aren't in the middle of this area to think that things are getting back to normal. The media doesn't give the rest of the world a real indication of what it's like here.

Is the area getting back to normal?

No.

It will never be the same.

What could possibly be "normal" for a city that was almost 80% destroyed?

Yes, incredible efforts have been made to get the relatively undamaged parts of New Orleans back on its feet. That's very important, since any rebuilding efforts will require the city to have some sort of cashflow. The tourism industry is important. So the French Quarter, Uptown and the Garden District are gearing up for Mardis Gras and the upcoming Jazz Festival.

But even those areas, if you pay attention, are filled with dark, silent shops and houses. There is not enough health care in the city, and even buying simple groceries is hard to do.

New Orleans will survive. And I agree with the optimists who envision an improved city, with less poverty and crime than before. It can be done.

But it will be a lot smaller. The devastated areas can't be repaired. They must be rebuilt, and that doesn't happen overnight. I expect that 50% or more of the area of New Orleans will take years to come back to some sort of life.

Every single person who has visited the destroyed areas of the city says the same thing: "You just have to see it." There are no pictures or videos that can do it justice. You just have to see it.

Life must go on, and the strength of the human spirit is incredible. This event has shown me a side of human nature that I will always cherish. I saw that when I lived in New York during 9/11 and again in these months since Katrina. We survive and we prosper. And I've said this before...it's up to each of us to make good of what happens in our lives. There is a huge amount of good that can come from this.

But normal? No.