A mother sits in desparation amongst the trash nursing her exhausted child.

Looks like another trajedy in Africa does it not?

It is hard to reconcile this image and the one below, both of which are from New Orleans, with the image of itself that America broadcasts to the world. An image of affluence, competence, preparedness. Yet inspite of the supposedly detailed rehearsals for just this form of disaster the response of American authorities has been ham-fisted and that is being kind.

Compounding the trajedy is the rise of mob rule in the devestated areas of the south. The thin veneer of civilisation has been lifted by the flooding exposing a sub strata of violence, racism, terror and lawlessness.

For the first time I am gaining an understanding of the passionate embrace with which the right to bear firearms is held in America. With civil society proving to be such a thin and fragile veneer, it may be that responsible households need firearms to protect themselves, not from external threats but from their fellow Americans.

Do you notice anything about the photo above? All of the troops are white and all of the civilians are black. It says something in itself really. Clearly the ones abandoned by the government were the poor and the majority of the poor in the south are black.

One might speculate on the rapid decline into lawlessness and violence. In Australia a study found that that those who felt they did not get value for money on their tertiary education were more inclined to cheat on their tax to avoid paying their HECS debt. The rational being that if you feel cheated you feel morally vindicated to cheat in return.

Do these individuals who have formed into violent gangs and are looting, raping and murdering feel somehow that the total failure of their society to provide for their wellbeing, both before Hurricane Katrina and particularly in its aftermath has given them the justification to abandon civil behaviour for mob rule. Perhaps they feel that it is some payback for the way they and their ancestors have been stolen from, raped and murdered with impunity in the past.

I am not condoning their behaviour in any way but in order to prevent something we have to understand it. Sending in the troops to restore law and order is undoubtely necessary but there are wider lessons to learn from this disaster than effective evacuation strategies. America promotes internally, and to the rest of the world, that it is the greatest country on earth in which to live. It's Achillies Heel is it's relucance to examine its major failings in social justice and welfare for fear of damaging this image. The consequence is the fragility of its civil society, the need for personal protection (ie firearms) and the consequential reduced quality of life for all Americans.