Last year, when Hurricane Katrina did her destruction on the Gulf, we spent a good deal time on the subject, as we had spent a good deal of time in South Louisiana in years past. Some of our postings were as follows:

We also had the sad task of eulogising an Arabi resident, business associate and personal friend who perished in the wake of Katrina.

We still hold that the glacial reaction of governments to the disaster is at all levels and crosses political lines. It is the failure of a generation which has lost a basic vision of the public good and sees government only to advance their agenda, be it in an active way (the left) or a passive one (the right.) This generational shift’s Waterloo took place in a state (Louisiana) where government is largely seen as a method of personal advancement for the participants. But, given the lack of shared values (which make a vision of public good possible,) we don’t see relief in the near future, or perhaps during the lifetime of anyone reading this site.

Politicising this will only make it worse.