I've been listening to a lot of people shift from empathy to selfishness as the looming price tag for the rebuilding of New Orleans starts to dawn on them. Clearly, we are going to rebuild the city. I don't want to sidetrack myself by getting into the composure of this New New Orleans. I'm pretty certain we've seen the instant gentrification of this once-great metropolis.
I left work angry yesterday because one of my co-workers shared his belief that God bitch-slapped New Orleans because it was a decadent place. (He might have expressed himself a bit differently.) I guess God really saved most of his temper for the poorer residents of the city. But then another friend sent me what I found to be an excellent analysis of our national need for New Orleans. It was then that I realized that Jesus just plain ol' hates America. Either that or we just experienced a random act of meteorological fury compounded by a methodical act of cruel indifference.
I've never written a diary before, so slap me down if I'm getting this wrong. But I think the article I'm linking is excellent, a must read. I'll admit I've never heard of George Friedman before, but I did do a little research before I came here and I can't find anything to indicate he's anything other than a very sober analyst.
It's going to be a national imperative to rebuild as quickly as possible if even half of this is on the money:
http://www.stratfor.com/news/archive/050903-geopolitics_katrina.php