Remember the generosity

Tragedies always seem to bring out the best and the worst in humanity. The twin hurricanes -- Harvey and Irma -- are just the latest example.

The national unity and helping spirit of Americans was in full display first in Texas and then in Florida as Mother Nature delivered a costly blow in terms of damage and loss of life.

Even in our little corner of the world, hundreds if not thousands of volunteers have been working since Harvey struck Texas to gather essential provisions in an effort to help those in desperate need.

And of course, we are not alone.

If perchance you were on the highways this weekend, you surely noticed utility crews from through the Midwest heading in convoys toward Florida. I quit counting at 50 trucks during a mid-afternoon drive on Sunday.

And churches by the score gathered tons of necessities for families displaced and in need of help during this national catastrophe.

The stories of heroic rescues could fill a book. In short, American generosity and concerns for their fellow man prompted millions of Americans to donate their time and money to come to the aid of others they will never know.

If indeed there is anything good that can come from tragedy, the display of unity and cooperation and sympathy for others will be remembered especially by those on the receiving end of this national outpouring.

For a week or so now, the true American spirit has been in the spotlight instead of the massive divisions and disagreements on countless topics and issues.

And yet these natural disasters also saw in isolated cases the worst in humanity.

Dozens of arrests have been reported, especially in Florida from looters who sought to use the hardship of others to steal in a brazen display of pure evil.

It's hard for most of us to understand what would prompt an individual to use this human tragedy as an excuse to break into abandoned businesses and homes.

Greed falls short of an adequate explanation.

Given the massive reach of these two hurricanes, perhaps the isolated looting is little more than some misfits out to line their pockets at the expense of others.

As a nation we have grown somewhat calloused to flash mobs and bands of looters. After all, this is most certainly not the first time we've seen these animals on full display.

We can only hope that when we look back on these twin tragedies, it's the generous spirit of Americans that we remember and not the few thugs who prey on others in terrible times.

Michael Jensen is the publisher of the Standard Democrat in Sikeston, Missouri.