In Reply to: thought provoking as always, LBB, but posted by JBruFan on February 07, 2010 at 19:03:42
repeat the Katrina mistakes again -- but dude, there is something very special about New Orleans. Based on the documentaries around that time and the discussions, it appears that a lot of those native NO musicians lived in those areas that were flooded. You start changing that cultural milieu, have people move to other places, you may start losing that magic, and NO may turn into just another large town with night clubs.
There is a vitality, and beauty to what that city produces. Musically speaking, NO needs to be treated as a cultural treasure and no matter what political philosphy you may come from wrt personal responsibility, and the role of government etc, I believe that NO is a petri dish that should not be sterilized. Lives should be improved, absolutely. Risks need to be minimized, no question about it. But you cannot take what is unique in that environment and piss it away because what's happening there does not fit your (= impersonal you) political belief. What you lose there may never come back again. That's my concern, and the reason for my reaction to section2.
As for trailers (or houses) around Kansas and Nebraska -- as you said, seeing farming continue in that area is in all our interest, which means it is in our interest as a nation to create the best circumstances we can for folks who live there to be able to do what they do. Although, you now very well that large agricultural megacorporations woud probably love to see those families pack up and leave and turn their land over to them. That's just the reality of life in US in modern times.