Quote Originally Posted by cbs View Post
I would hope that in a crisis that the people would not forget that we are Americans. This thread sounds like it's us against them. If a man and his family needed 5to10 rounds of ammo I would make a trade if I could. Survival at it's core can be very harsh but let's not forget we are still "One Nation Under God". If the big crisis does happen the core of who we are as Americans should change.
While I would like to hope a crisis would bring out the best in people, the harsh reality is people would turn on each other like animals. There is a very thin veil that keeps people civilized. Once that is torn away, you won't like what you see.

A short term crisis like 9/11, or even Haiti, tend to bring out the best in people. I think that's because there is a feeling that the veil of civilization is just temporarily removed, that normal life with govt and laws is coming back. People feel they need to just hang on until then so they tend to help each other. Step it up to a total disaster where society gets destroyed ( nukes, plague, global natural disaster) and the tendency to be helpful and civilized gets thrown out the window. Now it becomes survival of the fittest. In that scenario, I wouldn't count on my fellow Americans for help. I wish it were different, but human nature is what it is.