TREME – Episode 2
Art Imitating Life
2010-04-20
By DeAngelo Starnes

Editor’s Note: As he did with the final season of THE WIRE, contributor DeAngelo Starnes will follow the first season of the new HBO show, Treme, within the context of the show’s broader societal themes.

A recent Associated Press poll indicated that 78% of American citizens polled distrust the federal government.  Now, if you have taken a poll, you know how narrowly the questions are tailored and then manipulated to prove a hypothesis.  Not saying that occurred in this case, but different people distrust the government for different reasons.  More important, different people have different philosophies for how to fix the underlying bureaucratic problems of the government.  One common theme, however, is that many people don’t trust the government because it is under-performing the job it claims it is supposed to do.

This last point is carried out and being developed in Treme.  Against the backdrop of New Orleans’ citizens’ efforts to recover their lives in a post-Katrina setting, the writers and production team pose two rationales for the government’s under-whelming performance.  Either our government was extremely incompetent in helping the recovery effort.  Or its neglect to the city and surrounding areas borderline on criminal.

Consider the following scenes from this past week’s show.  The callous manner in which the government disbursed displaced residents all over the country.  In some instances, replacing (temporarily supposedly) damaged homes with FEMA trailers.  Or Clarke Peters’ Albert Lambreaux’s lament that the trailers would be unnecessary if the government would re-open some of the public housing.  Housing that remained intact after the flooding and withstood the strong hurricane winds.  Public schools closing but not re-opening.  The police’s failure to track persons arrested.  Or another officer’s belief that arresting a musician for a half a joint was important.  Or as mentioned in last week’s episode, the government’s ignoring warnings about the levy system, failure to evacuate the city, and general unpreparedness for the storm, unpreparedness that allowed a man-made catastrophe to develop.

It’s not just what the government could have done but didn’t do.  It was also its acquiescence to the business community’s transformation of the city.  John Goodman’s college professor, Creighton Bernette’s rants about his university’s elimination of the engineering and computer departments - departments that would greatly contribute to rebuilding the city into a cleaner and safer place.  Management from a posh hotel steering its guests to Bourbon Street rather than other parts of the city.  The insurance companies denying coverage to damaged homes by hair-splitting the difference between hurricane insurance and flood insurance.  And the delays of those payments when they are accepted.

You want to know what the purpose of the federal government is supposed to be?  Look no further than the Preamble to the U.S. Constitution where it reads, “We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity …” 

American citizens have seen the government fail to protect its people’s personal and financial safety.  They experienced the loss of home and income through no real fault of their own.  At the same time, they have seen the government provide advantageous deals to the banks and big business, even though the banks and big business have larger financial cushions than the average citizen.  They have seen these deals even when it’s apparent that some fraud and gross neglect are involved in “losses” these institutions claim they experienced. 

So naturally, the public cries out “What happened to justice, tranquility, and the general welfare to ourselves and our posterity?”  Whether it’s a smaller government or one that needs to enforce laws and regulations more vigorously, the people need help.  They are not getting it because the government they paid for through their hard work and tax dollars have not prioritized their losses and fears.  They are reading about watered-down financial regulations, tax give-aways to the rich and powerful, no credit extensions or loans to small businesses, no job offers to job-seekers, and home take-ways.

This current reality is the reality Treme places on display from 2005 New Orleans.  The parallels between now and then are uncanny.  If we knew then what we know now, many of us would have protected ourselves better.  Rather than watch the news in outrage from the safety of our homes, we could have surmised that what was happening to the citizens of New Orleans could soon be happening to us.

Given how the city’s recovery from natural and man-made disaster symbolizes our efforts to rebuild now, it brings to mind the title of Marvin Gaye’s most well-known song, “What’s Going On?”  Instead of asking that question, we probably should be asking ourselves, “What Are We Going to Do About It?”