James Fenimore Cooper...Mardi Gras....two for one special....read it!

In the days and weeks following Mardi Gras and Fat Tuesday, the American is allowed time to reflect on what has taken place. Viewing the revelry from a historical standpoint, I once again asked myself, truly, "what happened?".

In the broadest sense, The United States was founded by a group of British religious fanatics whose descendants became addicted to money(and the killing of Indians who interfered with the acquisition of it).

At first Americans were afraid of the wilderness. Then it was gone. So they loved it. They were also afraid of the Indians. Then they were gone. So they loved them too. James Fenimore Cooper's work, as well as many writers of the early 1800's emphasized the "noble savage"- of course once that "savage" was already dead and couldn't slit his throat. We have a history of revering things after they cease to be a threat to the status quot. After all, what is the Native American ethic if not Anti-American? For instance: conservation of resources, sharing (socialism), stewardship of the land, not being white (and christian). On a bit more touchy subject, what about the messages of Martin Luther King? Have his dreams been fully realized by the status quot? Surely even the most conservative Senator or Congressman in the country will honor his memory on Martin Luther King day (so long as a camera is pointed at him). The fact is some of these very same people were trying to defame, and/or kill him, when he was still spreading his doctrine! How does this relate to Mardi Gras?

Lets see. First we have to sum up what Mardi Gras IS. At this point in time Mardi Gras in the national imagination is little more than an alcohol fueled frat-fest where the everyday Puritan, capitalistic, lifestyle can be put on hold to throw back more-than-a-few with the guys. Not to mention; trash the streets of this undoubtedly poorer city than the tourists came from, gawk at local blacks, and snap pictures of the destroyed 9th ward as if it were an African American Theme park. This is not to say that there are not exquisite cultural things happening in New Orleans (such as the existence of a living, breathing, music form); but only to say that the first time Mardi Gras visitor will likely be unaware of it.

So, I ask, has Mardi Gras (New Orleans) become a place for the northern white to view the now "docile" black? Has New Orleans hinged it's tourism on something which formerly, we (popular culture) had no control of? What about Jazz no longer being a threat the white culture makes it ever more sellable? Perhaps, you might say, this phenomenon is nothing more than a showing of reverence for the past (in the style of Rip Van Winkle and the dubious Dutch ancestry of the United States which it highlights). It is true that Mardi Gras represents something aside from the Puritan work ethic that still permeates the country. It is also true that because of this assumption, Mardi Gras has mutated over the years provide an ever present alternative to white (white collar, christian, whatever you want to call it) America. After all, Mardi Gras is French, right?