Tuesday, November 29, 2005
Conversation with Philip
J English in an interview following Hurricane Katrina said that New Orleans is like no other city in the United States. It has a very different sensibility. New Orleanians know that the city is in a bowl and the levees hold the water back and hurricanes are a threat. But life goes on. The sensibility of New Orleans is to live for today. From a Northeastern, New England perspective, New Orleans would be characteriszed as having a self-indulgent, hedonistic approach to life. But that's another culture on the outside looking in, making judgments. The residents of New Orleans have an extraordinary loyalty to their city. So an awful lot of people from New Orleans are not going to care that there will be more hurricanes threatening the city. New Orleans is where they live and where their hearts live, and they're going to be in New Orleans. And if they have to leave when hurricanes are coming, then thell leave - but they will go back.
Maybe New Orleans' sensibility is just plain human nature. We hate changes (or rather we love security). Given a choice we will revert back to the starting point or our comfort zone. When we have adapted to a difficult environment, the risks became acceptable or even disappeared. Why was San Francisco rebuilt after the quake and Tokyo remains what it is today? What about the many villagers who return to the homes at the foot of volcanoes, until the next big one comes. The human tribe is resilient and adaptable but there is a streak in stubbornness in all of us?
Maybe New Orleans' sensibility is just plain human nature. We hate changes (or rather we love security). Given a choice we will revert back to the starting point or our comfort zone. When we have adapted to a difficult environment, the risks became acceptable or even disappeared. Why was San Francisco rebuilt after the quake and Tokyo remains what it is today? What about the many villagers who return to the homes at the foot of volcanoes, until the next big one comes. The human tribe is resilient and adaptable but there is a streak in stubbornness in all of us?
