Motivation?

The majority of questions, for those who are outside the situation, surrounding the crisis in Louisiana (and beyond) have not centered on the classic question of "Why would God let this hurricane hit New Orleans?" Instead, a majority of questions have focused on the chaos in the city - looting, shooting at rescue teams, convention center compound, the abandonment of the elderly and children.

The questions come from a wide variety of angles (spiritually, politically, "what the heck is going on"-ally). I cannot even begin to count the amount of questions that I have heard or that I have thought on my own over the past 4 days. I thought about trying to write about one or more of them today but I will, instead, list off as many as come to mind. I will say that the first one has been the one that has been pulling at my soul the most.

- What is the motivation for an individual or a group to be selfless in a situation like the Katrina crisis when all worldly incentives (money, job security, prestige, etc.) are removed? More specifically, why would a police officer stay on staff to help when his/her whole world has also has been destroyed and there is no financial incentive to stay perform his/her duty? This question arose when I heard that almost 40%-50% of the police force simply left duty. This question also applies to every example of looting and the other examples that elicit a "how can people being doing THAT" response.

- Where is the prophetic Christian voice to address the real problem of sinful, selfish actions? I envision millions of paralyzed Americans watching 24-hour news reports about the rapes, shootings, and looting. They are thinking, "How can this happen here and why is this happening?" Columbine, 9/11, and now post-Katrina atrocities all clamor for a voice to speak into the situation. The voice must provide a true Bibilical response that starts from a Biblical worldview that includes how we got to where we are (the Fall) and how we can have hope in Jesus Christ (redemption). This redemption applies at the individual and system levels of society.

- Has the media's portrayal of the U.S. military around the world impacted how our own citizens reacted to the U.S. military in New Orleans? In other words, have the non-stop reports of the U.S. military's failures in Iraq eroded the average U.S. citizen's view of the military to the point that shooting at a U.S. military helicoptor wasn't a big deal in New Orleans?

- What has the Department of "Homeland Security" been doing in the past 4 years? If a hurricane can cause this much anarchy then what will a dirty bomb or a nuclear bomb do to this country?

- How did a hurricane transform a major U.S. city into a place that includes scenes similar to the scenes of Iraq and Rwanda? The references to rapes are the most horrifying.

- What is are the similarities and differences between Katrina and 9/11? Why is my feeling similar but different?

- How much should I watch 24-hour news in order to understand the situation and have a genuine sense of compassion for the people who are suffering? At what point, should I turn it off and find other ways to deal with crisis from afar besides consuming endless reports?

- Is the fear resulting from Katrina rooted in humans facing the reality that they cannot control nature? Humans constantly want to control nature in order to create a predictable, safe space in which to live. How has Katrina's strike at this very assumption of safety and control increased the fear of Americans for the future?

There are at least 3904834098309 more questions but these are the ones that came flying off of my typing fingers right now. If anyone reads this, then I'd love to hear about which question you have asked the most (whether the question is in my list or not).