On notice: Haiti

Off the top here, I encourage all readers of KintlaLake Blog to donate $10 to earthquake-relief efforts in Haiti by sending the text message HAITI to 90999 -- if, that is, you're already involved in the life of your own community, and unless it's just a perfunctory feel-good thing for you.

I did, I am and it's not.

Pay attention to what's unfolded in Haiti over the last 36 hours. Notice how human nature expresses itself in the wake of disaster. See what happens when prison walls crumble and convicts roam the streets. Look at the way chaos establishes order and a brutal new hierarchy spreads over the land.

Try to look past the fact that Haiti is the poorest nation in the Western Hemisphere. Resist the arrogant temptation to assume that it "can't happen in America."

It can and, inevitably, it will. Watch, learn and prepare accordingly.