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May 6, 2007 | There are many Americans who lament the early campaign beginnings for the 2008 national elections. A reasonable concern is the amount of money being thrown around as politicians make obtuse promises to cure whatever ills you can come up with. In addition to the money we are wasting still in Iraq, the money flowing into the election coffers of candidates is obscene. If the money were combined, we could alleviate a good deal of the poverty and illiteracy in this country with new incentives for redevelopment of old neighborhoods, better availability of education for everyone and investment in our own people instead of workers in foreign lands. Revitalization of our own nation with our hard earned money should be our highest priority as our meddling in the affairs of foreign regions on behalf of corporate interests continues to consume American treasure in addition to American lives.
Where, you may ask, do we begin and how does this relate to the early campaigning? NEW ORLEANS. In case you have forgotten. While revitalizing New Orleans does not mean to ignore the Gulf Coast region that suffered equal or greater damage, a focus is needed to keep this national disgrace in the limelight of the political debate until progress is made. The Brookings Institution, while painting a neutral picture of the "recovery plan" for New Orleans, states that, "indicators suggest that the rebuilding of New Orleans' essential infrastructure is basically stalled as federal recovery dollars remain mired in red tape." There is no real explanation how the New Orleans economy can be "strengthening" when essential infrastructure is missing. There is little mention of the slashing of Federal Funding by the Bush Administration for hurricane and flood protection projects. For those whose main political focus is getting us out of Iraq, relating the two issues adds weight to your concern. Why do we allow one of our most historic cities to lie in squalor as we throw money and lives away in Iraq? Why do we allow racial imbalance to continue to exist in our country unabated? It was foretold that after a fashion, mainstream media would forget New Orleans and move on to more current excitements to keep the American sheep (with their short attention spans) enthralled - and such things have come to pass. The coverage that brought the grim reality of poverty and misfortune in American and in New Orleans specifically just moved on and the reality experienced by viewers moved on with it. There may be reasons why redevelopment and revitalization of New Orleans and the Gulf Coast are taking time. It certainly makes sense that we address future flood protection before committing money for redevelopment in the lower wards - but then, why would we cut funding for such projects? If there is an answer, what is it? Why are there no politicians who seek to be the President of the United States standing up and explaining exactly what the probelms are with getting the Cresent City back on her feet and her citizens back to a more reasonable existence? There should be an intimate understanding of what the current status of redevlopment in New Orleans is and what can be done to better facilitate progress on the part of anyone who seeks such office. The multitude of candidates smiling and pointing to audiences from podiums and making promises for most any malady anyone mentions to them do not convey any real understanding or foresight that is needed to lead New Orleans and the Gulf Coast forward. It is as if the people in the region do not exist, especially the poorer residents. The American voter needs to wipe the smiles off those silly, smug faces and ask hard questions. Someone needs to yell from the audience, "what about New Orleans"? The issue must be made a primary one and the electorate must not allow the issue to recede into the background noise of gay unions, abortion and other religiously motivated distractions. We have fellow countrymen who are homeless in very large numbers. We have a major American city that was devastated and we allow it, and its' residents to remain so almost two years after Katrina. We have politicians who failed to allow aid from outside the United States and what aid was accepted seems not to have made it to New Orleans or the other coastal communities that were destroyed. America's face is covered in disgrace and the smiling politicians pay token lip service to what should be one of our most serious concerns. We have a pop culture television singing competition paying more attention to the needs of New Orleans currently than our own national government. It is up to the American voter to demand answers, to stand behind fellow Americans and insist that our tax dollars stay in America - and not Halliburton's America - and demand attention to our needs before corporate needs abroad. Take a look at how much money we are spending on war while entire families live in substandard trailers waiting helplessly for a better day. Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain Dorothy. He is wealthy and cares little for anyone but himself. His philanthropy must accompany some return on the investment, and he is incapable of assessing such a return in human terms. You, the American voter, are the majority. Do something. You set the stage for what debate occurs, what the real important issues are and what the price of those who choose not to listen will be. Do not allow mainstream media and the illusion of political choice between political parties to decide for you what is important. Don't let polls that fail to even question New Orleans' future to set the political agenda. The same powerful entities of politics and media create those polls they use as justification for their propaganda. Demand that this issue be foremost among serious campaign discussion over the next two years. ___________________________________ 5.6.2007 |