Breakdown of civility

I agree with these letter writers (here and here) that one of the worst things we witnessed during Hurricane Katrina was the breakdown of civility and decency. I talked to a Louisiana National Guard soldier on Saturday who expressed the same feeling when he said he was shot at while trying to rescue people.

A firefighter I talked to weeks ago was out buying a shotgun. He said he'd never be left shorthanded again.

I'm not saying we have to lose our faith in the generally good nature of humanity, but we need to be vigilant of those who would take advantage of our trust when we let down our defenses.