The Base Must Be Order

Hurricane Katrina didn't just blow down houses or destroy roadways and communication lines in New Orleans with her gale force winds, she drowned all regional order under her monster storm surges as well. I watched with incredulity at the disorder that took hold in the following days: rampant looting; gangs raping; rescue workers being shot at. But, why should my disbelief be of the acts that define disorder? Disorder. Lost order. That is the shocking thing.

First there must be order. There cannot be anything else without order; no rescue work, no guaranty of safety, no opportunity to better our circumstance and no freedom. Order is the foundation for all other institutions; institutions that represent our democracy.

When terrorists strike, they strike at institutions that provide order (the World Trade Center towers and the Pentagon). They recognize that by breaking down order everything else built on it will inevitably fall. Its no surprise then that police recruitment centers, security check points, and people that represent order like judges and political leaders are routinely targeted in Iraq and Israel by terrorists attempting to disrupt or prevent order from taking hold.

I've always known the significance of order. I was just reminded to think on it by Fareed Zakaria when he recently appeared on Real Time with Bill Maher on HBO.