Society’s response to national tragedies determines a nation’s greatness. This response assumes many faces of good and evil woven within the fabric of capitalistic democracies. Ideally, a cataclysm on a scale wrought by Katrina should galvanize our nation and momentarily set aside the philosophy of supply and demand. Though this is the case in many sectors, it is not universal. Dark and voracious monstrosities are rearing their head and feeding on our nation’s anguish.

Adding to the bereavement of hapless victims, looters run rampant amid the devastation. They desecrate businesses, churches and private homes alike. I empathize with those who take foodstuffs, water and medical supplies. However, computers, televisions, video recorders and personal items pilfered from private homes are not survival items. Such looters are terrorists, and we should treat them accordingly.

Eclipsing the perversion exhibited by looters, the oil industry stands alone as a world beacon of greed and utter depravity. Historically, in times of national emergencies, oil enterprises on every level have gorged their coffers with flagrant abandon. Remember the 1970s? Strange how the shortages disappeared once prices reached target levels. Though government officials “investigated” on federal and state levels, they found nothing amiss. History is about to repeat itself. There is too much money involved for truth to prevail.

Did you ever wonder how much money it would take to satisfy the oil companies and their investors? It must be a bewildering sum since they stand ready to sacrifice an entire nation to achieve it.

Roger R. Turcotte, Lewiston

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