We have been inspired by stories of volunteers as well as trained professionals who have been working tirelessly to help the victims of our nation's worst natural disaster.

We also listened with disgust to stories of looting-stealing apparently for greed, not survival-from evacuated stores and homes were horrified to hear of armed marauders taking pot shots at fellow refugees, and even at emergency workers who were there to help them.

We know some individuals have a conscience and soul, and that some simply do not. That is the mix we live with as human citizens. However, what was more profoundly disturbing to observe than the callous acts of the mindless miscreants was the evidence of a systemic evil that we as a society tolerate until the facade of our collective neglect is violently ripped away.

The suffering endured by the poorest of the poor in New Orleans should shame all of us who take pride in the notion of equal opportunity in America. With minimal financial resources, these folks did not have a real opportunity to evacuate.

Now we face the question: Do we have the moral resources to reestablish our values? -DR