It's really not a question. Mardi Gras will "be" even if it not marked with a parade, because Ash Wednesday comes regardless of our circumstances. As for the parades and balls, people outside of New Orleans (and, surprisingly, a 
few people in the city) may not understand that if you "cancel" Mardi Gras, the lights of the city really would go out. Six months after the destruction wreaked by Katrina, the people of New Orleans need Mardi Gras. It is a sign of normalcy for us. (Besides, it is only the tourists who treat Mardi Gras like a bacchanal; for the citizens of New Orleans, it is really a big family day.)
few people in the city) may not understand that if you "cancel" Mardi Gras, the lights of the city really would go out. Six months after the destruction wreaked by Katrina, the people of New Orleans need Mardi Gras. It is a sign of normalcy for us. (Besides, it is only the tourists who treat Mardi Gras like a bacchanal; for the citizens of New Orleans, it is really a big family day.)Mardi Gras is a kind of declaration, as anti-American as it gets when you think about it, that human life is not ordered to productivity. Mardi Gras is anti-pragmatic. Those who insist that New Orleans should cancel its parades and balls and focus on the grim task of gutting homes and restoring infrastructure haven't yet said why these tasks (which are being done today and will be done on Ash Wednesday) should become the sole focus of life. What kind of life? Sober, hard-working, nose to the grindstone. A kind of puritan life, really.
God gave us a commandment for a Sabbath rest, and celebrations like Mardi Gras fit right in with that. "The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath." And Mardi Gras, too.
1 comment:
Amen Sister! I'm a Kenner resident and I love reading your blog. We do need Mardi Gras, it's our reward for living here! Thanks too for pointing out that most of the celebration is rated "G" or "PG". Only in New Orleans do we put our kids on top of ladders to keep them safe. Happy Mardi Gras!
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