New Orleans Questions

It would be a terrible thing if New Orleans died. It is a true American original. One of the few cultural centers in America. An oasis of decadence inside the desert of puritan America. Nothing could replace it. But building back is very hard. In some ways, New Orleans has been dying a slow death since the last great flood the city saw in the 1920s. So much of the city was poor when Katrina hit. Besides tourism, the city had little other industry. So, even apart from the failings of FEMA, Nagan, Blanco, Bush, and Congress to help the people rebuild, New Orleans has to turn back a very long and deep tide of decline in order to continue to survive. Is it realistic to expect that New Orleans can come back?

Because of it's unsurpassed significance as a center of culinary and musical development, New Orleans has always been important. Will that talent go elsewhere now? If they do, what will be left of the culture of New Orleans? How can it live on apart from its home? Here's hoping we don't have to answer that question.