Democracy in Limbo

The February elections in New Orleans are postponed.

I know that it would be a nightmare to have them and ensure a fair election. And, given the present speed of the recovery, which is not too slow but not fast enough, I do agree that elections can not be held in February.

However, while the elections may be in limbo, the electorate is in purgatory. They are being punished for sins not of their doing.

Displaced New Orleanians, be they in Houston, Atlanta, Memphis, or Jackson, have no voice in their adopted communities. And now, they have no voice in their own communities. A people without voice is a people without power.

The gift of democracy having been temporarily taken away from them, they can no longer hold their representatives accountable for their actions before and after Katrina. They can no longer participate in the democratic government that they are actively petitioning for help.

I keep thinking somebody should have done more. But that somebody includes me, which bums me out.

If I were still Catholic, I would offer my suffering up to the poor souls in purgatory - or New Orleanians. Same thing.