BAGHDAD NEW ORLEANS

I grew up in south Louisiana and have been totally engrossed by the story and images that have been coming out of New Orleans in the aftermath of quatrain. The scenes of looting and violence are shocking and remind me of the images coming out of Baghdad in the immediate days after the city fell. Why has this occurred in our great country?
I believe it reflects to some degree on the attitude of entitlement found to often in our society. We have come to believe that all things in life must be fair and when they are not then we becomes victims of some unnamed oppression or injustice. This attitude leads to the sense of "hey man we are owed something from somebody to make things right". So it is with the "thugs" in New Orleans.
I am not talking about the people who went in to stores for food or medicine they needed to survive. I am talking about those individuals that looted clothes, jewelry and appliances. Why were those items necessary for survival. The fact of the matter looting of this kind was the "thug's" way of saying "I am owed and here is my chance to settle the score, to get even".
Their attitude and behavior was not something that they were born with but something that was learned. We have to many leader in our country today that have constantly told people at the lower economic levels in our society that it is not your fault you are a victim of the "oppressive American culture". They have done this solely to maintain their power bases. These leaders are simply nothing more than uncaring power brokers who care little for people and America as a whole. To them power is to be guarded and protected at all cost.
It is time for the rest of America to say enough is enough we are a land of oppurtunity, it is here for the taking. All it takes hard work and a sense of personal responsiblity.