River
Currents Newsletter - July 2008
Between the Iowa caucuses and record flood
stages, the mid-section of the country
hasn't had this much attention since Mark
Twain scoured its river banks. Maybe that's
a clue to why the Mississippi lacks a
unified identity.
Coincidentally, as the flood waters rise and
recede, I'm reading Mary Morris's The River
Queen. It's a chronicle of her long-awaited
return to her father's homeland, and as she
travels the River, I'm introduced to one
abandoned city after another. This could
just be the author's - a New Yorker -
perspective, but with each city she
encounters, she ticks off its closed factory
or long-closed industry until you feel that
the River is really alive only in people's
memories. It's a metaphor for the image most
of the nation has for that region of the
country.
It occurs to me that this image of the
Mississippi's declining population base and
disassociated communities plays a role in
why the levees have grown weak and economic
recovery is slow. In this country it's the
squeaky wheel that gets the grease, and the
Mississippi River's wheel has been close to
silent for well over a generation.
But appearances deceive and perceptions may
be a reflection of the beholder's frame of
reference. Not that populations haven't
declined and industries haven't closed, but
the middle part of the country does have
vibrant economies that deserve support and
infrastructure. Its wetlands and natural
resources are paramount to the whole
country, as well. But under the "squeaky
wheel" approach to public policy, resource
protection and community development have
been almost nonexistent, especially in the
wake of a declining population.
With the spotlight on recent disasters and
the potential of a president who got his
first break in Iowa, it may be time to claim
some of the grease Mississippi River
communities justly deserve. The rolling
flood crests strongly suggest it can't be
one community at a time, either. It's time
for a unified approach to infrastructure and
in some cases community rebuilding. After
the flood waters recede and while the
Mississippi mud is still plastered high on
the sides of buildings, Mississippi River
communities should find ways to work
together to make a common case for their
share of the pie. They'll need to move
quickly though, since the collective memory
of Washington is short and the next disaster
is probably just around the proverbial
"river's bend".
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