The parallels between the tragedy in New Orleans and the Titanic may have been 93 years apart and seemed totally unrelated, but it cannot be denied that both tried to defy God's natural order and nature conquered. Life is so fleeting and yet man opts for placing more importance on an infinitesmal drop of water compared to an ocean of eternity. If one forgets the ocean, the ocean remembers.

"At the height of its arrogance, Titanic was cut down by the frozen waters of nature. A vessel brimming with defiance, arrogance, greed, and humble dreams was fatally stabbed by ice. Even in death its character was evident as fates were sealed by wealth and convenience, yet sincere humanity, humility, and heroics were evident as well. A cup built on opulence, once cracked, became a chalice from which dedication to service, courage, and devotion to God poured out as well. As often happens in this world, innocence paid the price for defiant and arrogant greed. As often happens in this world as well, moral responsibility was shifted about and away from those truly guilty by those in power and the media. Likewise, New Orleans has been cut down by the waters of nature, its defiant, arrogant and colorful rejection of mainstream sent downstream. An ambassador of moral freedom was chained by nature. A place weighed down by rampant sin and injustice collapsed under that weight. A temporal temple, which worshipped the flesh over the spirit and gambled its way to pleasure, rolled snake eyes."

    As Wilma builds this weekend and Florida and the Gulf battens down the hatches, the more I think about the horrible devastation which Katrina inflicted on New Orleans, the more I see reflections of a distant tragedy of long ago where death and water mixed in a brew of sorrow as well.

A Mighty Ship

    The Titanic was certainly one of the mightiest and most impressive vessels ever created by man. Its sheer size and construction remains awesome even by today's standards. Its ability to serve as both a tool and ambassador of wealth, power, influence, entertainment, and class struggle was equally impressive. This ship represented the glimmer, the hype, the vanity, the superficiality, yet likewise the honesty, the dedication, the toil, the humility, of the world which saw its birth. It was a moving class system, with both the wealthy and the poor finding corners to live their reality while thrown together if only for a trip. From all reports, the poor could never rise to the large corner occupied by the rich and the rich would not want to "sink" to the small corner occupied by the poor. One imagines the rich man and poor Lazarus at sea, with Lazarus eating scraps while the rich man feasts above.

    Wrapped around all of this imagery is the famous arrogance that surrounded this vessel. Many declared it unsinkable, others brazenly waved it at God in defiant demonstration that man can do and build as he wishes without regard to the dictates of the divine. In short, this ship was both an earthly symbol of power, wealth, and economic division and a spiritual symbol of arrogance, defiance, and unbridled greed. As the ship raced across the Atlantic trying to reap earthly acclaim, it ignored spiritual temperance and humble respect for the forces of nature.

A Bold City

    Few cities in American and the world represent as many things as New Orleans. It is at once a symbol of entertainment, celebration, freedom from restraint, vibrant food and culture, colorful history and progress, and soulful roots. Sadly, it is also a symbol of injustice, poverty, wanton sin, promiscuity, lust, spiritual defiance, moral arrogance, and a disdain for regulation. From its Mardis Gras abominations to its sodomite festivals, this city on the mouth of a great river has become a center at the mouth of moral defiance and libertine lifestyles. It is revealing the jazz, the musical child of this city, was born out of a desire to free musical expression from authority and regulations of traditional music. It seems that this city where Cajun flavor boldly reaches beyond traditional tastes thrives on boldly rejecting temperance and lustfully reaching for pleasure. Lastly, and most tragically, this city was built in utter defiance and rejection of the forces of nature themselves. Most if not all experts and engineers agree that this city should never have been built in its present location, where it is so vulnerable to the forces of climate and nature. Despite this obvious obstacle, this municipality so defiant of limits, so disdainful of barriers, so adverse to higher powers, was built and proudly progressed atop vulnerable ground as if defying nature itself with one fist raised in arrogance and another in celebration. Simply put, New Orleans has been its own kind of Titanic, boldly moving forward without a hint of concern for the powers that threaten it.

A Common Fate

    At the height of its arrogance, Titanic was cut down by the frozen waters of nature. A vessel brimming with defiance, arrogance, greed, and humble dreams was fatally stabbed by ice. Even in death its character was evident as fates were sealed by wealth and convenience, yet sincere humanity, humility, and heroics were evident as well. A cup built on opulence, once cracked, became a chalice from which dedication to service, courage, and devotion to God poured out as well. As often happens in this world, innocence paid the price for defiant and arrogant greed. As often happens in this world as well, moral responsibility was shifted about and away from those truly guilty by those in power and the media. Likewise, New Orleans has been cut down by the waters of nature, its defiant, arrogant and colorful rejection of mainstream sent downstream. An ambassador of moral freedom was chained by nature. A place weighed down by rampant sin and injustice collapsed under that weight. A temporal temple, which worshipped the flesh over the spirit and gambled its way to pleasure, rolled snake eyes.

    Both Titanic and New Orleans have been called "natural disasters" by many. After all, did not nature cause both crimes? Did not both fall at the hands of powerful waters? The fact is, both are actually "man-made disasters". The Titanic's fate was carved by man's defiant arrogance and greed and apathy toward God and the forces of nature. Likewise, New Orleans was built on a location where nobody in their right mind would have built a city, in defiance of common sense and nature. Both the Titanic and New Orleans ignored the writing on the wall. They each were built and run despite and in defiance of the greater forces around them. Had the ship been run respecting nature instead of greed and had the city been built and run likewise, these tragedies could have been avoided. The fates of these two were therefore not "natural" but created by people too defiant and arrogant to take pause and consider God and the forces of nature. Imagine if I build a city inches from a volcano and that city is destroyed. Is this a natural disaster or more likely a disaster of common sense?

Conclusion

    It is convenient to blame nature and God for tragedies and disasters, but the real culprit is usually human sin in all its forms. That innocent lives are lost amid such sin is tragic but sadly par for the course of history. What is certain is that when such things occur, the forces of power, wealth, politics, and the media will always quickly shift the blame according to their agenda. Unlike the ship, the city could be rebuilt to respect God rather than continue to defy Him. Let us hope and pray that the parades of decadence and sin will give way to a realization that God is the only lifeboat from sin and perdition.

Gabriel's Clarion
Wednesday
October 22, 2005
Volume 16, no. 265