The semester is drawing to a close yet again, and many students are facing a trip home to family and friends. I would like to ask every one of you planning on leaving the city this summer to do your part for New Orleans.
No, I am not asking you to gut or rebuild a house. I am not asking you to stay in the city, work for minimum wage and spend your tax dollars here. What I want is much more strenuous – I want you to tell your friends, family and any other stranger whom you have five seconds with that New Orleans is here. We have power, we have running water, we are for the most part functional and yes, we do have a crazy mayor.
He may be crazy but he is ours – just like Aunt Myrtle who gets locked in the attic when company comes over. Only, for some strange reason, nobody has locked C. Ray in the attic yet.
Yes, he has done it again, and we all know what I mean by “it.” Just for the record, there was a time in my life when I was pro-Nagin. I am not very proud of my decisions, but we all have to stand behind our actions – something C. Ray obviously does not understand, evidenced by his latest worldwide, out-of-context mishap. It is no wonder outsiders are under the impression New Orleans is still half-sunk and barely breathing. How could any modern urban center function without sane and able leadership? The sheer tenacity and stubbornness of our citizens keeps us afloat.
At a time when everyone is supposed to be working together, inspired by tragedy, toward a common good, we are working towards self-created destruction caused by schisms in the population and an inability to cooperate across political lines. So why are we bellyaching and not acting?
You know it’s not all bad down here. But do your friends and families? Let them know. How can you articulate the beauty of Mardi Gras Indians on Super Sunday; the excitement that rushes through a crowd when The Marching 100 approaches; the looks on tourists’ faces when they see one of our spectacles for the first time? How do you convey the serenity of downtown early in the morning or the taste of crawfish at the first boil of the year; the rowdiness of a city council meeting (if you have not attended, you really should at least once) or the weird annual caterpillar plague? You cannot. But, it is definitely worth a try.
Make others understand why putting up with C. Ray and countless others is so worth it and at the same time so part of the charm. I worry many residents and students alike are forgetting all the good things and good times that are not related to Carnival and JazzFest.
This is the crux of the matter – if our citizenry gets tired of dealing with C. Ray and hurricanes, how will we make it? Those from New Orleans got a taste of the outside world during evac-ations and non-locals already know the grass is sometimes greener on the other side.
Help New Orleans help itself. Take all of your positive experiences home with you, and after you graduate, consider staying a while. Don’t like New Orleans? Then come see me, and I will personally do everything in my power to make it happen.
Do us a favor, though: When you go home, just act like you love everything and say nice things about Aunt Myrtle. Every city has its quirks and wacky characters, we just put ours out there, true to Southern style. And remember, New Orleans is a state of mind – not a state of mayor.
Doris Royce is a political science senior from New Orleans.
