New Year's 2025: The Big Uneasy
I’d planned to write about the celebration of a new year, new beginnings, new challenges, and the opportunities we have to learn, grow, and improve, especially in times of adversity. For a moment, the attack last night in New Orleans put paid to my own energy and optimism.
Carried out in America’s flagship vehicle, the pickup truck, the now-deceased suspect plowed into a crowd on New Orleans’ famed and infamous (for me, anyway) Bourbon Street. Taking the lives of 15 revelers and injuring two dozen more. The suspect, 42 year old Shamsun Din-Jabar was born in Texas and served in the US Army.
Authorities described him as becoming radicalized, perhaps spurred by the war in Gaza, carrying an ISIS flag and posting videos to social media prior to the attack expressing desire to commit violent acts. It’s also believed he may not have acted alone.
I’ve been to New Orleans many times; both in the best and worst of circumstances. In college, I spent a New Year’s Eve there for the Sugar Bowl featuring my own Texas Longhorns (whew) and the Virginia Tech Hokies. Though we lost that game, I recall ringing in the new year on Bourbon Street with gracious, fun, and friendly Tech fans who bought us champagne at midnight.
I was there a day after Hurricane Katrina made landfall and worked alongside local, state and federal officials trying to make sense of another unimaginable catastrophe. Flying over the city some 20 years ago, whole areas were underwater, and oily slicks refracted light into rainbows on the surface.
We met locals in the Lower 9th Ward who’d commandeered a refinery building as a headquarters and makeshift emergency room as they operated in conditions you’d expect to see far from our shores, not on the banks of the Lake Ponchartrain.
Under the best and worst circumstances, New Orleans is a character and companion in any visit. From the World War II Museum to Cafe Du Monde to little shacks offering the greatest fried shrimp anyone could imagine, NOLA herself always joins you on your visit.
Like Lazarus, New Orleans rises again, as she will from the horror of Bourbon Street.
The tragedy also provided the opportunity for the worst of us, in this case Louisiana Republican Senator John Kennedy, aka Foghorn Leghorn, to show why Americans of all parties disdain politicians.
Retaining his title as the most unserious senator in the midst of serious times, Kennedy attacked the media and went on a rambling rant about pursuing the FBI if they didn’t provide complete and total truth in the findings of their investigation. While he is a terrible representative of Louisianans, he’s a near-perfect analog of our broken political system.
How much more are we expected to contend with as Americans? The New Orleans attack will spiderweb out across the country as the names of the dead and injured are released and their families and towns grapple with the holes left in their homes, offices, and communities.
Every generation must confront its trials. GenXers were fortunate to have grandparents who faced hardship most of their lives, only seeing (relative) peace and prosperity later in life. We’re amidst our own gauntlets, and we will be stronger for them.
As I noted earlier in the week, we must conserve our individual and collective energy as we traverse the dim forest of our time. The stress of anticipation can sap emotional and physical energy. Catastrophizing, they call it.
For now, we should meditate on the things we do have. We can hold our friends and family close. Celebrate the small wins of our partners, children, and neighbors. The winter solstice has passed and the days grow longer, even if only two minutes at a time.
My old boss, the late Senator John McCain had a saying, “It’s always darkest before it’s completely black.” Given his history, he knew of where he spoke. The darkness we face will not last forever and each us can and should provide our own rays of light. A marquee isn’t one big bulb, but many working together to light up the night sky.
Happy New Year to you and yours.
News and Notes:
You can find full coverage of the attack in New Orleans via NOLA.com.
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Thank you. Reed, for your heartfelt words. May all our love surround the family and friends of those who lost a precious loved one.
Kennedy is my no means stupid. He graduated from Harvard Law School. But he is the perfect example of what happens when one listens to too many Lynyrd Skynyrd songs and too much Outlaw Country while growing up.
My heartfelt condolences to the loved ones of those who perished in yesterday evening’s senseless act of violence in NOLA. May their memories forever be a blessing.