Real Leadership

Our current mayor, looking at our next one.

Earlier this week, I asked what it would take to get you to leave New Orleans.

I read Mr. Cl10's reply: "I hate to say it, but if the Saints left, that would factor into my thinking", and I thought, wow, but it's just a sports team.

No, it isn't.

The more I thought about it, the more I thought that he was right.

The only leadership we've seen in this city in the past 2 years has come from Sean Payton and the Saints. The only leadership.

The only thing we've really had to give us any hope in the past year has been the New Orleans Saints.

Today, going to a barber shop in da East, going to Casamento's for lunch, at a daiquiri shop on Chef Menteur, going to da quatah, dropping off some donations at Common Ground and submitting my daughter's application to pre-K (that's Kindergarten, not the other thing), I ran into people that were just brimming with excitement.

Why?

The Saints.

I've learned that despite the citizens' best efforts, the only optimism we have in this city is due to the Saints.

If they were to leave, it would be tragic, it would be painful, it may be fatal for the city of New Orleans.

There's no leadership here. When Nagin and Riley made the announcement of their toothless plan, councilpeople Stacy Head and Shelley Midura were standing behind him.

Silent.

Thus, tacitly agreeing that this was a good idea.

Oliver Thomas made a good old preachy announcement, full of nice sound bites like "check your thug card at the city line".

Pathetic.

Where are the ideas, where are the plans? We're the Baghdad on the Mississippi, except they're rebuilding Baghdad.

Where's the leadership?

We desperately need it from our elected and appointed officials.

Can someone please explain to me why we need to crack down on littering? Is this the best use of police time? Will this lower the murder rate?

Can someone tell me how having hundreds of officers involved in checkpoints is going to catch murderers? How many of those murderers were driving cars? How many were out exactly between the hours of 2 and 6? Well, what do I know. It seems to me that nothing is being done to change things...only to shut us up.

That ain't gonna happen.

If things don't change, expect a bigger march next time.

But thank God we're getting leadership from people like Michael Lewis, aka Beerman.

"The city believes," Lewis says, with feeling, "because we believe."

We get it from Deuce McAllister.

We get it from Fred McAfee.

We get it from Sean Payton.

The last Saint game of the regular season was used to rest the regulars. Fred McAfee scored a touchdown, after being cut at the beginning of the year, then resigned, then cut, then resigned 2 days before the game.

This week, Fred McAfee was put on the injured reserve list.

The way the IR works in the NFL is that a trip to the IR list means you're done for the year. You still get paid, you're still part of the team.

Coach Payton did not cut FreddieMac, rather, he put him on the IR.

So Fred is still part of the team, and will still get a ring if we play in Miami.

We all know that FreddieMac isn't hurt. He may have played his last game, but he's still a Saint, he's still getting paid, and he'll still get a ring.

Coach Payton is a class act.

Coach Payton is a leader.

Perhaps Mr. Nagin, Mr. Riley, and Mr. Jordan could learn something from Mr. Payton.

Perhaps not.

They haven't learned anything yet.

Does Nagin's bodyguard look like he's gonna go all Danziger on Bart at any second or what?

Maybe they got the message on Thursday. They learned that we didn't number a couple a hundered bloggers and friends of Helen and Dinerral. They learned there were thousands of us.

Thousands.

Oh, and the idea that people showed up because a white woman got shot is wrong. They were there because of everybody.

They were there because of Steve Blair, Monier Gindy, Corey Hayes, Eddy Saint Fleur, Don Morgan, Jealina Brown, Larry Glover and Cheryl Nitzky.

They were there because of Etienne Nachampassak and his mom.

They were there because they've had enough of this lack of leadership.

I carried a marching snare drum there, partially because all parades need drummers, partially because I want to play in a brass band around town, partially because I haven't marched a drum in a parade since 1986, but mainly because Dinerral Shavers played snare drum.

I talked with the guys in the Hot 8 after the speakers finished. They were the coolest bunch of guys, with hope in their faces, not fear and sorrow. I told them I brought the snare to honor Dick, and they smiled and rapped my drumhead.

The kids who were in Dinerral's high school band were there, and they also had the look of hope. Unfortunately, they didn't have the look of innocent children, either. They had that jaded look of kids who have had part of their childhood stolen away from them.

I wonder if Riley and Nagin feel any guilt about that. Hell, I wonder if they feel guilt about anything.

I wonder if they feel.

At the rally, I didn't get to meet a bunch of people I wanted to meet: Donnie, Varg, Mermaid, Dambala, and Celcus.

I did get to talk to Morwen for a while, and she feels just like I do. She went to the starlight, and I should have gone with her. Instead, I talked to Arnie Fielkow for a bit, and then wandered (with parade snare drum in tow) over to Johnny White's.

I didn't want to let it all go, so after an Abita Amber or 6, I called adrastos. He was with dangerblond, and they came over to Johnny White's. A guy from Beaumont bought two rounds, and then we wandered the quarter aimlessly looking for food. Eventually, we ended up back at Johnny White's, and then a wine bar.

In case y'all ain't noticed, I'm not really a wine bar kind of guy.

So for now, I'm going to enjoy the biggest event ever to happen in the Superdome. I'm going to be part of the loudest crowd of people ever assembled in an American Football arena. We will not just not allow them to hear the snap count, they won't be able to hear the plays in the huddle. We will deafen them, we will crush them, we will break them.

Then, we will celebrate. We will show that country to our north, as well as Canada, how to pass a good time.

Then we'll wait for Seattle to come down, and do it all again next week.

Lisa captured my feelings well, Bart should be drafted for mayor (seriously), Karen showed Clarence that mirrors don't always provide a flattering view, and Maitri has the roundup of the press coverage.

It's sad here, it's desperate. But tomorrow, between 7 and 10 pm, we will see the best examples of leadership New Orleans has to offer.

At this point, the only example.

The Saints are Coming.

Thank God.

Comments

[Donnie McDaniel]

I was hoping to meet many others too. I at least got to meet Adrastos and Dangerblond. As I said before, if Nagin doesn't get it after that, then he may never. It was impressive to see that many people come together in unity.

[Marco]

Not to slight any of the other NOLA bloggers, but it's tough to beat The ProFess' in rant mode. Ed. B. live was pretty damn good too.

[Sophmom]

Dang, Ashley, great post. I thought Scout's little picture comparison was dead on too, but you blew it at the close when you said, "At this point, the only example." You sell yourself and your little band of blogging, marching patriots short, darlin'. You guys are the leaders. No shit.

[GentillyGirl]

We are the leaders of the city. All of us, from so many diverse backgrounds, can institute change, and that's a change for the better.

For the suppossed "leaders" of this city, byde this tryst: there is a new day dawning, and you ain't part of it.

[Lisa]

Awesome post as always. You have a great way with words.

[Kelly]

Great post. However, I'm all for cracking down on littering. I used to live near a Popeye's and watch people walk by my house and throw their trash into the street. Throwing trash into a trash can is the lowest level of personal responsiblity and if you can't master that then there are going to be problems.

[TM]

I was disappointed not to meet you too, Ash. I kept looking for a red-headed man in a black beret' and a snare drum but no luck.
Deuce just scored --- Wooo Hooo!!!!!!!!

[liprap]

Damn it, I wish I could have been there. From what I could tell from the AC 360 clips, it really DID sound as though Bart was channeling all the rage we all feel.

I'm hearing people whooping it up and honking outside now that the Saints are going to their first NFC championship game, and I am now wondering if Philadelphia will make good on Chris Rose's bet and take Nagin off our hands...

http://www.nola.com/rose/t-p/index.ssf?/base/living-0/1168584613261300.xml&coll=1

[Schroeder]

You mean that crackhead-looking guy is Nagin's bodyguard? Interesting.

[Karen]

That guy is a Pastor, somewhere...

He chided me for treating the mayor without respect. My observation of him was that he was "planted" by Nagin. He led the March, in front of the banners from the WTC.

I think he was fixin to make it the same march that seem to come out of Central City. But this time the hijack was done by Bart.

[Jim Abbondante]

The problem we have in our nation today in every level of our government is the fact that there are no true statesmen or true leaders at the helm anymore. I am sorry but I saw very little following Katrina and there still exists no leadership there today - with the exception possibly of Coach Peyton.

It really doesn't matter what part of life you consider, anywhere numbers of people exist - there is going to be a need for genuine leadership - not the quest for self-aggrandizement and the willingness to compromise principle for the sake of personal agendas.

If you want my opinion of what real leadership is - let's take a business environment for example - leadership is not only about being consistent in your demonstration of what 'good' looks like, but it's all about finding ways to further increase the return you are able to receive on what you are investing in your people while you are working together with them on a daily basis to get the job done on behalf of the customer or client. Leadership involves discovering new and more effective ways to create even greater opportunities for growth and success on the part of each one of your people, your team as a whole, your company, and also your customers. Leadership is all about you being in the driver's seat when it comes to you 'being' and 'doing' whatever it takes to insure the success of anyone and everyone who has a vested interest in your organization's success.

Leadership is of no value unless it produces measurable results while developing people and enriching lives in the process. You see these fundamentals proving successful in business and also on the football field and on basketball courts - why can't our so-called political leaders apply these same fundamental principles in our various seats of government? Because there are no true statesmen left. Whether you agreed with his politics or not - the closest we've come was Ronald Reagan. Whether he forgot his lines a time or two or not, he was at least a man of conviction who seemed to be motivated by what would be in the best interest of those under his charge. I am embarrassed for today's politicians. Please send 'out' the clowns!