Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2006/01/27
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]A mighty powerful response, Norm, girded with truth. Sadly, most of what mankind does is for own vindication, not to the benefit of fellow man. B. On 27-jan-2006, at 8:30, Norm Aubin wrote: > Greetings, > > I'll echo Nicks apology to all in advance. I too have learned that > there is > no place on this list for political discourse, or at least a > contrarian view > like mine. BUT . . . > > I'm sad that New Orleans sank. It is a loss of some historical and > social > import. However the truth is the city was as doomed as Pompeii was > and L.A. > is, and no amount of human intervention will forestall nature > indefinitely. > It is prideful and egotistical to believe that any man made > structure is > more powerful than the worlds fury itself. It is also shallow and > mean-spirited to gratuitously cast aspersions and blame to no > helpful end. > Everyone involved at all levels of government and civil positions for > decades pooched it, as did many citizens on the street. We are sadly > limited in our imaginations and memory when it comes to what the > earth can > do to our man made structures, and incurably optimistic in our > faith for a > good ending to events. > > The only reason I can imagine for rebuilding a city that is doomed > to be > submerged again, no matter what you do, is pride and vanity. When > this > experiment fails again, and it will someday, who will take blame > for the > innocents and weak that are caught in it this time? > > The question that has to be addressed in factual and not romantic > terms is > that this disaster has re-asserted the fundamental fallacy of the > concept. > Building a city, no matter how lovely and full of romantic history, > in a > geographically unsound place, is an invitation for calamity. > People who > build their homes on cliff-sides have to buy insurance to do so, > because > when the rains come, and they do, the homes wash away. The first > time this > happens I feel sorry for the folks, and hope they had enough > insurance. The > second time I look at them in pity. What about San Andreas? It's > still > ticking away - just waiting. What perceived obligation do we have > in that > event and its aftermath, and by way of prevention, preparation and > reparation? > > We can learn from this lesson - we can build elsewhere and to better > purpose. We can help those who have lost the stuff of life; their > jobs, > homes and property. Our moral obligation is to the people, not to the > edifices. We should take the money that we would use to rebuild > and instead > help educate and train those who have never had anything, or have lost > everything, to enable them to build for themselves. Invest the > rebuilding > money in people, not things. If you can rebuild the social fabric, > the > civil fabric will follow. > > Take pictures - record the lessons, capture and evoke the poignancy > of the > death of an old city, create the visual record for posterity, but > don't > believe that the city can ever be rebuilt; it can't be. The place is > permanently changed, altered, destroyed in part, and it can never > be the > same. A record of what happened and perhaps an opportunity to see > it in > perspective will be a valuable obituary. Let go of what is past and > make > room for what is to come. Hopefully something new and better can > arise, and > for those who choose to go there and build in that place - I wish > you the > best - let me know how it turns out. Take lots of good pictures, > that will > also have great value. > > End of soap box, looking for the cartridge box, > > Best of light, > Norm > > > On 1/26/06 11:25 AM, "Lee England" <Engl6914@cableone.net> wrote: >> >>> Normally a comment on how New Orleans would be chocolate >> again would blow me >>> through the roof. But in Nagin's case I pardon him because >> I think he's >>> been the most effectual character in this whole >> drama--similar to Guliani in > > <SNIP> > >> It blows me >>> away that people are living in tents down here when last >> week a $700 million >>> space probe launched last week toward Pluto (or one of >> those planets). >>> >>> Lee England >>> Natchez, Mississippi >>> USA > > -- > No virus found in this outgoing message. > Checked by AVG Free Edition. > Version: 7.1.375 / Virus Database: 267.14.23/242 - Release Date: > 1/26/2006 > > > > _______________________________________________ > Leica Users Group. > See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug for more information