On our own

The anarchy in New Orleans is both disturbing and eye-opening. One thing is clear: we cannot rely on the government to protect us. We can hope they will, we can pray they will, but we cannot count on it.

This should also pretty much seal the long-time simmering 2nd Amendment issues. The debate is over. No one who is honest with themselves can now dispute the need for citizens to have the capability to defend themselves. In New Orleans we are presently witnessing devolution, entropy, anarchy, and social breakdown. Citizens are behaving like animals and feral beings:

Mr. Compass [police superintendent] said that some stranded tourists who had sought shelter at the convention center instead found trouble. "The tourists are walking around there and as soon as these individuals see them, they're being preyed upon," he said. [Source: NYT]

New Orleans has turned into Mogadishu. Where is the evidence that this is a major American city? Where are the leaders? Who is in charge? How could they let things get so out of control?

"We need additional troops, food, water. And we need personnel, law enforcement.
This has turned into a situation where the city is being run by the thugs." [Source: NYT]

President Bush came out forcefully, but is this sufficient?

"We're dealing with one of the largest relief efforts in our nation's history, and the federal government's got an important role to play," President Bush said. "Our first priority, of course, is to save lives."

Should he not have said: "We will not tolerate disorder, we will not let people go hungry, looters will be arrested and prosecuted, and we will begin the task of rebuilding New Orleans immediately"? That may have played well with the average American.

We may not get hurricanes in our cities, but what if this was a terrorist attack? The New Orleans debacle could happen anywhere. That's why we have to be prepared to defend our family and our homes, and if the government steps in - great, but if they don't, we're on our own.

For an interesting take on the armed self-defense issue, see Mitch Berg's take on Shot in the Dark, "Birth Of A Second Amendment Activist".