DNR For the Big Easy

I want to talk a little about post-Katrina New Orleans, and the shocking LACK of progress being made in terms of resurrecting the Gulf Coast area that was so badly damaged by the storm. I recently talked to some friends of mine who volunteered their spring break to travel down to The Big Easy and help with the cleanup and reconstruction efforts. Each and every one of them had the same response to what they saw - 'We had no idea it was still this bad'. They described parts of the city, such as the 9th ward and others, as 'looking like a bomb went off', which is probably not a bad analogy to make. I myself have yet to see this damage first hand, though I'm sure I will at some point - considering I have family in New Orleans. My point however is this, I have certainly seen many pictures from the decimated areas, and my friends are absolutely right, it DOES look like a bomb went off. In hospitals, DNR (Do Not Resuscitate) tags and orders are given to patients who, if they die, do not want to be revived by machine/modern technology, preferring instead to accept their fate and their death. What I want to know is, after Katrina hit, who gave the DNR order for New Orleans and the rest of the Gulf?

Now I know that may not sound fair, or may come off as slightly flip, but lets be honest for a moment about the capabilities of our country, and about the amount of progress being made in New Orleans. The United States is second to none in terms of pure economic power at our disposal, and our industrial strength is equally potent. After World War II, we rebuilt ENTIRE COUNTRIES from the ground up...and not to take anything away from the disaster that was Katrina, but the damage done to Germany for example, was exponentially worse. Practically every city in that country was bombed into oblivion by the Allies, and yet they were all rebuilt, almost from the ground up. Now I'm not saying that the time scale wasn't much longer for the reconstruction of Europe, it certainly was, but that was in the middle 40s, with less technology, less industry, less money and less people. So please tell me why the most capable country on earth can't rebuild one of it's greatest cities any faster and more effectively then we have thus far managed with New Orleans? Where is the American spirit and determination that should be lifting this battered city, and it's people onto it's back and carrying them along? Where is dedication, the determination and the grit that is going to be required to restore New Orleans and the rest of the gulf to what it was pre-Katrina? Actually, I take that back...where is the determination that will restore the Gulf to a state BETTER then it was before? Because honestly, that is what those people deserve - something better then what they had, and it's up to the rest of this country to give it to them.

At this point the only people demonstrating the sort of dedication and resolve that could eventually make restoration possible for that part of the country, are the thousands of volunteers pouring into the area. These men and women are giving up their time and their labor to come and tear down houses, sweep mud, haul debris, sort clothing, distribute food, and generally care for these American's who are not in a position to care for themselves. Where is the government response? Where is the media? Why isn't anyone else saying anything about the complete lack of progress, aside from the people who are there, the people who have been there? Has everyone else forgotten what happened? Try and think for a moment when the last time you saw a headline on the front page of the newspaper, or heard a lead story on the television that had anything to do with what is STILL a major crisis going on in our own backyard? It's gonna be harder then you expect!!!

Anyway, enough for now...I'm going to continue the rest of this rant sometime next week after I get home from Formal! Only TWO DAYS LEFT until MYRTLE BEACH!!! WHHOOOOOOOO!!!!