There are subjects and events when the lack of personal involvement is no obstacle to discussion. There are others of such magnitude that only those who have endured them first-hand are qualified to speak about them. I consider it a mark of respect that we, who have no idea what we're talking about, refrain from talking anyway. No matter how well-meaning we might be, it would read as empty platitude.

I sat down to write a column on the utter destruction and chaos I watched on CNN and the other newsfeeds.

And, simply could not find the words to put what I felt, saw, wondered. The scale of destruction, the utter chaos, individual misery heaped upon human tragedy. I’m not sure there are strong enough adjectives to portray the catastrophe.

Small wonder that the rest of us are mute in the face of it.

Some events are of such magnitude as to defy even the most erudite among us. For as long as I can recall there has been debate of the effect of the destruction of a major metropolis in the US.

The conjecture has come to pass. New Orleans and the surrounding area has been effectively reduced to the most primitive state can be imagined. No water, food, power, transportation. No services of any kind.

Law enforcement is doing the best it can under the circumstances, but those officers are under enormous duress. They live there too, they have lost homes, they suffer the same conditions as the remaining population. It may come down to true Martial Law, National Guard troops, fully armed, patrolling the entire region.

And, let’s be totally honest, for years experts have been sounding the alarm about exactly this type of situation in that area. For the most part, not much had been done. The levee system wasn’t sufficiently upgraded, the wetland barrier between cities and the Gulf wasn’t sufficiently restored, building codes were not changed to reflect the reality of geography.

All those changes didn’t come about. Why? ... “It isn’t cost effective.”

My God! Who did the math?

As usual, Nature is now exacting the true costs of avoiding reality. Cat Five storms are rare, but when they come, they are more destructive than a Mag 8 Earthquake from sheer size alone. This one has carved a several hundred mile wide path of destruction across the entire southeastern US.

Given we are in a peak of the hurricane cycle, and will be for a few more years, be prepared for more.