Why does it matter if the Louisiana flooding goes viral?

The media has covered the floods. The government has responded promptly. Will it really "make a difference" if interest skyrockets?

Historic flooding in Louisiana has been largely ignored.
(Image credit: Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

If tens of thousands of Americans were displaced by a once-in-a-millennium storm, you'd know about it, right?

Not necessarily. The flooding around Baton Rouge, Louisiana, is the worst natural disaster since Hurricane Sandy, but it's barely made the front page, overshadowed by the Olympics and Donald Trump's latest antics. Nor have the political leaders of either party seen fit to speak about the disaster. President Obama remains on vacation, and both major party nominees for president have largely ignored Louisiana's plight.

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Noah Millman

Noah Millman is a screenwriter and filmmaker, a political columnist and a critic. From 2012 through 2017 he was a senior editor and featured blogger at The American Conservative. His work has also appeared in The New York Times Book Review, Politico, USA Today, The New Republic, The Weekly Standard, Foreign Policy, Modern Age, First Things, and the Jewish Review of Books, among other publications. Noah lives in Brooklyn with his wife and son.