Bush's Desperate Plea
One week ago, New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin issued his "Desperate SOS." His city, quickly flooded, sank in putrid waters; the society of the city that he watched over fell into anti-authoritarian anarchy and chaos, individualist survival, and fear-laden mayhem. We all watched on television as the core reality of society itself fell away- and we watched with horror because there was nothing being done to reverse it. Tens of thousands, led to various locations of "safety" were abandoned and unprotected, starved, literally, by inaction. Pockets of people across the city faced roving hordes, those who embraced anarchy because the society had never treated them right, or even humanely, before.
And so, the Mayor's call was more than calling to save New Orleans from drowning in its choas. It was also a call of consciousness, a wake-up, a shocking, horrible reminder that our society was crumbling before our very eyes. This is America. This is our society.
And today, Our President, who did all that he could to help New Orleans [...], is issuing his own Desperate Plea: pretend it was just 9/11.
As though this were meaningful and worthwhile. The President, unafraid to invoke something like 9/11 for the wrong reasons at any point in time has really streched the possibilities of reason today.
The Spirit of 9/11 was due to the shock of it: how suddenly the average American was jolted out of naivete into a world of violent, spectacularly horrifying threat. The enemy was outside, and therefore, we could blame and unify. Americans have no trouble standing together and shouting when they know who they're shouting at. As American society came into direct conflict with overzealous jihadist "society," the average American felt that their place was clear.
There was giving after 9/11 as well; so much so that it has crippled many non-profits and charities who found themselves in the unenviable position of having to compete with the uncompetable 9/11. Americans were extremely generous then, for that one cause, and have been extremely generous now.
But the Enemy here is internal. It is not the conflict of societies here: it is in fact the conflict that comes up when one society has exposed the very worst of its being. What happens in New Orleans can and will happen in any great American city that undergoes a similar catatastrophe- the way that our society has created itself, these pockets of unequivacable conflict persist.
Our America has been built over generations through conflict, not through resolution. And as these events pull back layers, expose unhealed wounds, awaken lurking beasts, we see that America, the land of opportunity, will have to reconcile that. The so-called spirit of 9/11 was about glossing over the differences of Americans; the devastation of New Orleans is about the utter raw exposure of them.
Why does the President's Desperate Plea not ring true? Because it is not leadership. It is simply desperate. Except, of course, the President is only desperate for one thing: his sorry approval ratings.
And so, the Mayor's call was more than calling to save New Orleans from drowning in its choas. It was also a call of consciousness, a wake-up, a shocking, horrible reminder that our society was crumbling before our very eyes. This is America. This is our society.
And today, Our President, who did all that he could to help New Orleans [...], is issuing his own Desperate Plea: pretend it was just 9/11.
As though this were meaningful and worthwhile. The President, unafraid to invoke something like 9/11 for the wrong reasons at any point in time has really streched the possibilities of reason today.
The Spirit of 9/11 was due to the shock of it: how suddenly the average American was jolted out of naivete into a world of violent, spectacularly horrifying threat. The enemy was outside, and therefore, we could blame and unify. Americans have no trouble standing together and shouting when they know who they're shouting at. As American society came into direct conflict with overzealous jihadist "society," the average American felt that their place was clear.
There was giving after 9/11 as well; so much so that it has crippled many non-profits and charities who found themselves in the unenviable position of having to compete with the uncompetable 9/11. Americans were extremely generous then, for that one cause, and have been extremely generous now.
But the Enemy here is internal. It is not the conflict of societies here: it is in fact the conflict that comes up when one society has exposed the very worst of its being. What happens in New Orleans can and will happen in any great American city that undergoes a similar catatastrophe- the way that our society has created itself, these pockets of unequivacable conflict persist.
Our America has been built over generations through conflict, not through resolution. And as these events pull back layers, expose unhealed wounds, awaken lurking beasts, we see that America, the land of opportunity, will have to reconcile that. The so-called spirit of 9/11 was about glossing over the differences of Americans; the devastation of New Orleans is about the utter raw exposure of them.
Why does the President's Desperate Plea not ring true? Because it is not leadership. It is simply desperate. Except, of course, the President is only desperate for one thing: his sorry approval ratings.
posted by General Stan at 12:20 PM
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