The storm as 'civic examination'

[msgadget]

Hurricanes come in two waves. First comes the rainstorm, and then comes what the historian John Barry calls the "human storm" - the recriminations, the political conflict and the battle over compensation. Floods wash away the surface of society, the settled way things have been done. They expose the underlying power structures, the injustices, the patterns of corruption and the unacknowledged inequalities. When you look back over the meteorological turbulence in this nation's history, it's striking how often political turbulence followed.

...

We'd like to think that the stories of hurricanes and floods are always stories of people rallying together to give aid and comfort. And, indeed, each of America's great floods has prompted a popular response both generous and inspiring. But floods are also civic examinations. Amid all the stories that recur with every disaster - tales of sudden death and miraculous survival, the displacement and the disease - there is also the testing.

Civic arrangements work or they fail. Leaders are found worthy or wanting. What's happening in New Orleans and Mississippi today is a human tragedy. But take a close look at the people you see wandering, devastated, around New Orleans: they are predominantly black and poor. The political disturbances are still to come.

[Chovexani]

1. That is powerful stuff

And a good chunk of DU still just doesn't get it.

[omega minimo]

2. Hello msgadget, come visit my thread, I linked to this gem of a post

as it related to my thoughts tonight, beyond the outrage. My concern is that the general OUTRAGE is not aroused enough because the Americans on the Tee Vee living and dying in this hell, abandoned by their government, have dark faces.

I knew that there were already "so sick of this racist thing" bonehead threads going..... wanted to provide some substance and context (maybe too much :evilgrin: ) to raise the point:

Americans are being tested for how we react to witnessing our fellow citizens being treated this way. If we don't respond (or even if we do, possibly) we are that much closer to ALL being treated this way.

Those who choose not to see that.... well, that's what the OP is about.

I included a bit of your post in the OP and I trust you don't mind. I hope you may visit and that we have more dialogue on this.

This moment must be elevated in the public eye for what it REALLY is. It provides the opportunity to combine the efforts of different groups/organizations who understand that we are in this together.

Will American citizens recognize what is right in their faces and how wrong it is? I think there's a chance.

[HamdenRice]

3. And this is from arch RW Bushbot David Brooks ...

Hi Msgadget -- I read that in the NY times yesterday and expected bush apologetics. If you read the entire editorial, it's kind of indirect and then he bashes the current situation at the end.

It will be interesting to see if Brooks follows this up with a changed perspective about this administraiton.

[msgadget]

4. Indeed,

I had to keep rechecking the photo at the top of the piece myself, Hamden. I'd be surprised to read more of even this from him.