Community or Anarchy?

Ravaged by Katrina from without and by looters from within, New Orleans is facing the end of its civilization. How thin is the veneer that keeps us from descending into barbarism! For many in the "Big Easy," apparently, the only thing that kept them law-abiding was the threat of arrest and prosecution.

Lest we cluck at the hooligans carrying away plasma TVs amid the floodwaters, we should each ponder this question: When no one's looking, are you the kind of person who picks up a piece of trash ... or throws one down? The first leads to community. The second, to anarchy.