The Los Angeles inferno continues, as new fires continue to break out even after entire neighborhoods have been ravaged and thousands of people have been displaced. Every day the case builds for reintroducing “a culture of responsibility” to California. Shmuel Klatzkin wrote of the once great city of Los Angeles, “No one took responsibility for the collapse of the culture of merit that had built the city. Instead, they celebrated that demise as a cultural triumph.”

If there is a serious objection to private firefighting efforts, it is that focusing on saving particular homes might somehow interfere with saving entire neighborhoods.
Today’s lack of serious, responsible leadership would have been unthinkable not only under Governor Ronald Reagan but also under the Democrat he beat, Governor Pat Brown, as well as the Democrat who succeeded him, Governor Jerry Brown.
The infirmity at the political top contrasts dramatically with the determination, resolve, and courage of those actually deployed to save the city from flames. That is typical of those in emergency services — several members of my church are firefighters, as was one of my dearest friends for decades, whose family remains family to me even after his passing.
Similar determination, resolve, and courage have been demonstrated by ad hoc and private actors who sought to fill the gaps left by California’s decrepit political leadership. Yet the latter has ignored, or worse, demonized those who helped save their own and other people’s homes. This attitude demonstrates a rot that runs far beyond the top. Many Californians seem angry when their neighbors prepare for their common disaster and thus avoid the all-too-predictable catastrophe.
In many cases, nothing could have saved buildings consumed by the flames. The fires were too great, the winds were too high, the geography was too hostile, and the homes were too close. Nevertheless, one of the most striking images in some LA neighborhoods after the widespread fire ...